


The Lost Ring

by Vanilla_Raindrops



Category: Original Work
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Childhood Trauma, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Friend Fiction, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, Mild Gore, Mild Language, Not lotr, Overpowered MC, Self-Insert, Wizards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 20:30:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16647263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanilla_Raindrops/pseuds/Vanilla_Raindrops
Summary: Ethan, wizard and worker in the security department of the magical ministry, loses a magical ring his mother gave him when he was just a little boy, before she perished in the darks flames of an evil wizard. He goes on a journey to get it back, and makes friends and foes along the way.





	1. The Ring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ethan Butler](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Ethan+Butler).



> Lmao this started as a joke with my bf and turned into this big fanfic of my whole group of friends. It wasn't even supposed to be serious at first but as I kept writing I realized it was actually kinda good. So here goes!

It had started like any normal day. Ethan was in the kitchen, eating his breakfast, while his mom practiced spells and worked on her book, a very well known book in their country. His mother, Eileen, was a popular writer, she made children's books about spells and wizards, although she had been recently trying out literature for adults, and it seems she had been pretty successful so far. Ethan smiled softly. The sun was bright today, with one or two clouds in the bright blue sky, the cool summer breeze making them move slowly like fluffy white snails. The young boy had planned to go play outside with some of his friends later that day, although his mom had asked to talk to him before he did. His mind wandered, and he tried to guess what was it she wanted to tell him as he chewed his food. Ethan looked outside. He saw a small squirrel chase a bird, and a little ant colony building a fort near the cracked dolphin gray tiles on the floor outside. He should try and move them away, and near the plants, before they start invading the house. His mom wouldn't like having ants eat out all the food, and rightfully so. Ethan got up and placed his empty plate in the sink, before walking down to the basement, where his mom's workshop was. The place was pretty messy, a very big contrast to the rest of the house, that was always so clean and proper.

“Mom?” He said loudly, looking around trying to find her amongst the piles of papers and books. A few candles were lazily floating around, under some sort of spell, mildly lighting up the darkened room with a comforting orange-yellow glow. The boy heard a noise coming from the back if the room and tried his best to squeeze himself in between the scattered objects on the floor to go there. He saw a figure in front of him, crouched down and wearing a star-filled robe and pointy hat, both blue and purple like the early night sky, the bright yellow stars on them seemingly glowing in the dim light of the fire dancing in the candles around her. Eileen stood up and turned around, a small flower carefully placed in the middle of a dirt pile in her hands. She looked up from the plant and smiled “Hey honey. Look at what I did!” She moved her hands closer to his face. “I made it grow in only a few seconds! Isn't that great?” she explained with a proud smile on her dirty face, her eyes shimmering with happiness behind her big round glasses. The nine years old whistled “Wow, that's so cool!!” he clapped his hands and smiled. Eileen gasped softly and carefully placed the flower back on the ground, wiping her hands and face with a cloth, then replacing her glasses on the bridge of her nose and stood up. “Oh! I almost forgot! I did ask you to come see me when you were finished eating!” She walked past him, her robe hovering over her bare feet as she got to a little door on the opposite wall of the room. “W-what's that?” Ethan asked, staring at the wooden door. Eileen smiled and opened it, sliding her hand inside and pulling out a red velvety bag, tied at the end by a golden cord. She then closed the door and turned around, crouching and looking at her son. “It's a thing I want to give you… I've had it for a while now, and it has helped me find my way in life when I was lost, so to speak…” she smiled softly. “So I wa-” she hadn't finished talking when she was cut off by a knocking on the door, loud and monotone, more like a banging than just a knock, full of anger and force. Eileen stood up, her expression now serious and somber, and she removed her robe and hat, handing them to Ethan and shoving the red bag in her front pocket. She ruffled the young boy’s hair and walked towards the stairs. “Stay here, mommy has to go take care of something…” Ethan’s eyes widened and he tugged on her hand. “Wa-wait!! Where are you going!?!” he cried, hugging her arm tightly. She ruffled his hair again and smiled “Don't worry Ethan, I'll be back, just stay here, okay?” the woman walked up the stairs and closed the door behind her. Ethan sat on the ground and waited. He heard noises upstairs, banging and spells, screams and grunts, but he stayed there. He was too scared to go see. He simply hoped that his mother was alright. Minutes passed and he became more and more agitated, until the noises stopped. Suddenly he heard the door to the basement slam open and his mother run to him. She looked panicked, and had a few bruises on her red and sweaty face.”Ethan, come on, we have to go! I know a teleportation spell, but it's very hard to make, so I'll need you to…” she gave him the ring. “In case something happens to me, please, keep it safe, and never EVER give it to a being of darkness. This ring, you will give it to the person you trust most in your entire life. You'll know when you see them.” Noises were heard and she turned around “Okay, we have to go now! But I'll have to teleport you only... I can't come with you honey…” tears formed on the border of her eyes. “Wha-why???” Ethan cried out, tugging on her shirt with his small trembling hands. Eileen placed her hands on his and kissed his forehead, muttering a spell before whispering “It's the only way to keep you safe… I have to protect you...”

Ethan yelled and screamed, but it was too late. A bubble formed around him as his vision blurred, but just before he teleported, he saw a dark figure appear behind his mother, who turned around and hit him with a spell. Fire, black and purple, surrounded the being, burning the books and plants in the basement like a wild animal, tearing down the paper and flowers ferociously, pieces and bits flying everywhere, before reaching the woman. Then a bright light. Then nothing. 

Ethan woke up with a start, panting heavily his head ringing and his whole body hurting. He opened his eyes and instantly felt dizzy, then closed them again and whimpered softly, before opening them again. He looked around and saw that he was in a dark alley. The tiles on the floor were broken and damp, as it had probably rained a few hours prior to his arrival, and in the air floated a disgusting smell of fish and rotting food. The boy looked down and realized that he was clutching the robe and hat of his mother in his arms as well as the ring, tightly hidden in his right hand. He tried his best to stop the tears slowly forming in his eyes but failed, the warm salty water rolling down his cheeks and nose, falling on the ground with inaudible  _ plics, _ flowing down the cracks of the cold gray stone and disappearing into the darkness. 

 

****

 

_ 10 years later… _

The familiar sound of the rooster was heard in the early morning, as the sun slowly appeared in the sleepy sky and hid the moon and the stars with it's ever-changing pastel blue, yellow and pink colors, all fighting to become the happy light blue of the afternoon. Somewhere in a village, like clockwork, a very energetic person woke up. He yawned and stretched, always on time with the awakening of nature, like his mother was so long ago. He turned around on his soft mattress and sat up, looking around with a sleepy smile, scratching his head. He shivered when his feet touched the cold wooden floor, then tried again, wincing a bit and then standing up on his feet. The man walked to the closet and took out his clothes, a yellow sweater vest and jeans, as well as a star-filled blue robe and pointy hat, a faint smell of dirt and flowers lingering in it after so many years, making the wizard smile sadly, burying his face in the soft and fluffy material, sighing a bit then placing it on the bed besides the rest of the clothes. After dressing up, he walked to the back of his room and near a small vivarium. He opened the door and looked inside it. ”Luna? Luna? Where are you? Come here girl, it's time to go to work!” He said, a faint Irish accent tainting his soft tone. The boy smiled, seeing a small white and brown frog appear from the shadows of an empty log, a sleepy expression somehow painted on her small face. “Ah! There you are!” he smiled and opened his hand, letting the animal hop in his palm and climb up his arm to his shoulder. He patted her head and walked towards the door, looking back at the room one last time before stepping outside. He walked to the kitchen and took his identification card, looking at it for a while.

**Ethan** **Griffonstone - 19 years old - Supervisor of magical anomalies (new member)**

The wizard placed the card in his pocket, and grabbed the wand that was right beside it. He looked at the clock and sighed.  _ There he goes. Another day at work. Let's get started. _

The streets were quiet, as most of the town was still asleep. Ethan looked around for a cab, taking the time to breathe in the pure and fresh morning air. If there was one thing he liked about his job, it was how quiet and peaceful the streets were in the morning. There he could relax and enjoy the small time of tranquility he had before hell broke loose. Because it did. Everyday there were at least ten or more complaints of both humans and wizards, asking him to help them with a spell that had went wrong or a weird phenomenon that they had seen. Most of the time, however, he was disappointed to see that the problems were very easy to solve. Although it made his job a bit easier. He pitied the magical security department, always having to fight against some horrible wizards and sorcerers, always looking so tired and worn out at the end of the day. A cab passed by and he waved his hand to make it stop. As he went inside, he looked at the design off the car. A newer model, one of those cars that ran on magic only. Scientists had found a way to make a few objects use magical fuel instead of oil or gasoline, a much cheaper and eco-friendly way of making things work. He arrived at his destination and gave the money to the driver, before stepping out of the cab. The building was very big, a yellowish white painted on the bricks all around it, standing tall over all the other buildings besides it. Ethan walked up the large and numerous stairs, getting used to the few seconds of exercise it gave him during the week, running up the stairs, the wind making his robe fly up in the air like a cape. He arrived at the two big doors, and took out his card, placing it in front of him. The doors opened and he entered the building, patting Luna on the head and walking towards the elevators. A man approached him, waving at him with a smile. Ethan smiled and waved back, slowing down his pace to let the man catch up to him. “Heyy! What's up Griff, bringing your pet to work again?” The man pointed to Luna, cozily perched on the boy's shoulder, probably asleep. Ethan nodded and smiled as the man stroked her back and smiled. “Hello Luna!” Luna made a noise. “She's saying hi back!” Ethan said. The man giggled and scratched his head, replacing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “Heh, well I wish you don't get too many complaints today, cause i don't feel like destroying another haunted doll. How many times has it been? Five? Six?” He passed a hand in his red hair. Ethan chuckled  as he stepped in the elevator “I bet it's been more than that.” He pressed on the button of his floor and sighed as he watched the doors close. Oh how he wished something a bit more exciting would happen today. 

The elevator stopped and both men stepped out, walking towards their assigned desks, that were placed next to each other. Ethan sat on his chair and took out his wand, placing it besides his computer, then letting Luna get off his shoulder, slowly crawling into the wooden platform and sitting there, watching her master with a tired face, before yawning softly. The wizard looked at the side of his desk, where a small box had been placed to it, possibly a mailbox, at least, that's what he used it for, as he had never known the true utility of it. There were two letters in there, and he took them out. A publicity for a wand cleaner, and a letter for  _ Oban Dewbreath. _

Ethan laughed and gave the man the letter. “Yeah I'm pretty sure that's not my name” he said, as the other man grabbed the letter. Oban then chuckled and placed the paper in the drawer of his desk, before opening his computer. “No hats today?” Ethan asked the redhead, poking his head. “Nah, it's pretty hot today, didn't want to melt or something…” 

“You madman, not even following the tradition” Ethan smirked and giggled. Oban shrugged and looked at his screen. “Eh, does it even matter? We're just simple ministry workers, not powerful wizards, we don't NEED that hat…” 

These days, only the popular or powerful ones always wore their hats, as a way to show their status. The others, while still allowed to wear them, preferred not to. Ethan sighed and went back to work.

A few long and extenuating hours passed before lunch hour arrived. Ethan packed his things, getting ready to go somewhere, but before he could go, a loud booming noise was heard outside, making Oban yelp in terror. Both men turned their heads as they heard commotion outside, with a few co-workers getting agitated and accumulating near the big window. Ethan and Oban stood up and walked near the window. “What's going on here?” Ethan asked his friend. Oban shrugged and looked around, then finding an opening on the window and looking outside. “Oh shit. There's a… a big uhm…” he stopped talking. Ethan's eyebrows furrowed and he rushed to the window, then gasping as he saw what had happened. There had been an explosion nearby, and now the building near theirs was burning. But not just regular flames. It was… those flames… black and purple, wild and ferocious, and hungry for blood. He knew those flames. Then it hit him. He turned around and sprinted towards the exit, grabbing Luna in his arms, not even taking the time to wait for the elevator and jumping in the staircase next to it. Oban tried to follow him, then grabbed his arm and tugged on it. “HEY!! Ethan!? Where are you going???” Ethan stopped and turned around. “I gotta go take care of something, I'll be right back… I think…” Oban looked concerned, but let him go. Ethan quickly ran down the stairs. He tripped and fell, catching the frog he had in his hands before she hit the ground. Luna turned around with a terrified expression that meant  _ What are you doing you idiot, don't drop me!  _ Ethan chuckled nervously and apologized, before getting back up and running downstairs. His path was cut short by a group of security workers running past him, outside. One girl tripped and fell, and Ethan ran to her. “H-hey, you!? Do you know what's going on??” The girl looked at him with a terrified look. “All I can tell yah right now is that you shouldn't be worrying about the fire.” She quickly got up and ran towards her group, who quickly teleported to their destination. Ethan stood up, a bit taken aback by what he had been told, and he continued his run to his house. “Please be ok, please be ok, please be ok…” he kept thinking as he took a cab and got to his apartment. He ran inside and gasped, seeing two security workers near the door. One of them was the girl he had talked to a few seconds ago, while the other one was a tall blonde girl, who was furiously scribbling notes on her magic pad. Ethan ran up to the first girl he had seen. It seemed her robe and hat were a bit too big for her, the hat falling slightly on her green left eye, although already covered by shiny hazel hair, and the white robe covering her hands with the long sleeves. She looked like she was new there, seeing how nervous and concerned she acted, biting her lip and fiddling with her thumbs and her wand. “H-hey… uhm, t-that's my apartment, a-and…” the girl squeaked and looked at him. “A-ah, sorry, but I think you were a bit too late…” she moved away from the door and opened it with her wand. Ethan burst inside and gasped, his eyes widening in horror. Everything was a mess. There were plates shattered everywhere on the floor, and a potted plant that was usually sitting on the windowsill, now scattered across the floor, the crimson petals shredded and plucked from the plant. There were holes in the walls, plaster and wallpaper shredded on the wooden tiles. Ethan gasped and ran to his room. There was a gaping hole where the door once was placed, door that was now in a million pieces on the floor. As he entered the room, his eyes started to water, seeing that the one that had destroyed his home had found what they were looking for. At the head of his now destroyed bed, there was a hole, a bit like the others on the other walls. But this one was deeper. And a bit more symmetrical. And bigger. He quickly looked inside and gasped again. “GODDAMNIT!!! THEY TOOK IT!” He punched the wall and growled. The small girl, that had been following him the whole time, walked towards him. “W-what did they take?” she asked softly. Ethan looked up at her and frowned. “They took the ring…”


	2. Call Me Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan meets a mysterious girl who apparently knows alot about the Ring he lost, and they decide to go search for it together

The girl's eyes widened. “The ring…? You mean..  THE ring???” She asked, looking behind her to make sure nobody was listening. Ethan gently stroked Luna's head, who was shivering in fear. “I don't know what you mean, b-but it's a ring that my mother gave to me when I was younger... before she died…” he then said. The girl gasped softly and leaned closer. “What's your mom's name???” She whispered. Ethan took a step back and frowned slightly. “E-Eileen… w-why..?” The girl stayed silent for a second, looked around, then took out her wand and wiggled it around, concentrating on her spell. They quickly teleported in a random alleyway, and Ethan yelped in surprise. “KYAA!! WHAT ARE YOU DOIN-” the girl placed a finger on his mouth and looked around. “Protecting you.” Ethan stared at her. “Wh-what… what do you mean…” the brown haired wizard took a step closer. “Your mother was a ring bearer. She protected the ring, that had been given to her by her husband when they fell in love. You might think that it's just a ring, and yes, it might have a sentimental value to it and all that, but…” she got a bit closer and shivered. “What did she tell you when she gave it to you?”

Ethan hesitated. Should he really trust this girl? He didn't even know her name. Who knew what she was up to. “H-hey, why do you even want to know??” He asked, pushing her a little bit. “I don't even know who you are, why should I tell you all this..?” The girl sighed and smiled softly, putting her wand in her pocket and taking out her identity card. “Name's Rosalie Firedancer. Friends call me Rose. I'm an officer in the magical security department.” He took the card and looked at it. It was an authentic one, so she wasn't lying. It was written on it that she was 17, and his eyes widened. “ _ She's so young… how did she get the position? I've heard that the tests are nearly impossible to pass… Damn, she must be pretty powerful.”  _

He looked up and gave her her card back. “W-well, it's nice to meet you Mrs. Firedancer…” he held out his hand “My name's Ethan Griffonstone, Magical Anomalies department.” as they shook hands, he took some time to inspect her. She was about the same height as him, although looked smaller because of the slightly too big white and blue robe and hat and fluffy black scarf. She had big and bright green puppy eyes, framed by dark circles, appearing there from, he supposed, lack of sleep and stress. A few freckles were scattered across her pale face, and she had a scar on her right cheek, an old residue from a previous battle. Her hands were fairly big for her small stature, although her grasp when they shaked wasn't very firm or strong, showing a lack of confidence. She was looking at their hands, her free one playing shyly with the bang hiding her left eye. He had to admit she looked pretty adorable altogether. Rose sighed and scratched her head, smiling shyly and looking down. “Hehe, well, I guess it does help a bit to know each other's name…” she cleared her throat and looked up. “I don't think we should talk here though…” she grabbed his arm and started walking towards a tavern. “W-wait, why are we…” he looked around “h-hey that's the old part of town, heh..” Rose nodded and they entered the tavern. The town they were in had a small part that hadn't been updated for centuries, and still relied on old magical techniques, fire (not electricity) and traditional ways of living. It was, oddly enough, a very calm and empty part of town. People would've guessed that it would attract a lot of tourists, but, because of it's more spooky allure, and a few legends surrounding the area, the only people who visited were the ones who still lived there and a few brave (or stupid) humans and wizards. Like Rose and Ethan. 

The tavern was pretty dark, only lighted up by a few torches all around the building. It smelled of old beer and wine, and as Ethan looked around, he realized that there weren't a lot of people inside either. “Strange, usually there's tons of people in there.” The man scratched his head. Rose frowned and looked around. “Yeah, that is strange… I'll go look around, you stay here.” She motioned to a table in the corner of the building. “I just want to be sure that the perimeter is secure…”. Ethan walked towards the table and sat on an old chair, that creaked as soon as he touched it. He looked at the bar. It was pretty quiet. The bartender was wiping a mug, looking at the door each ten minutes, hoping for somebody new to enter the building, then going back to her business. There were a few wizards talking around another table at the opposite side of the room. There didn't seem to be anybody anywhere else. He tried to remember the name of where he was. He did remember that this place was usually pretty much full 24/7, so it was more than just odd to see that there was barely anyone in there. Ethan saw Rose approach the bartender. She held up a picture, and the older woman shook her head, to which the small girl sighed, and stayed there a bit longer asking a few questions before coming back to the table. She sat next to Ethan and took the picture out of her pocket. It was a picture of the ring, and Ethan wondered how she got it. As if she had read his mind, the girl said “It's an old picture, been taken when your grandfather had it.” Ethan nodded and turned to the girl. “So, what were we talking about?” Rose smiled softly “I asked you what your mother told you when she gave you the ring..” Ethan looked down and clenched his right fist, reluctant to remember his past. A drop of sweat fell from his face and he removed his hat, placing it on the table. Luna crawled on top of it and layed down, snuggling in the warm and soft material. “She told me… to give it to the person that I trust most… and that I should never give it to a being of darkness…” he covered his face with his hands and rubbed his temples. “T-that's all she told me… so I guess it's normal that I don't fully understand why this ring is so important. I've done a lot of research on it yet I barely found anything… except that everyone wants to have it for some reason…” Rose straightened up a bit more as she made a concerned face. “You don't know anything about it… wow, first time I hear about a SOR who doesn't know anything about the ring…” she giggled softly “Heh, now I finally get to tell someone about my immense knowledge on the subject!”. Rose cleared her throat and straightened up, before starting her story. “A long long time ago, a ring was made by the most powerful wizard in history, Alzin Dandero. In there, he channeled his power and contained them, a bit like how a wand works. When the man died, of a premature death due to an intense battle with his enemies, some of his magic was transferred into the ring. His wife, who at the time, was still alive, took the ring and hid it.” She smiled softly “That is until her son was born, a few months later. She gave it to him when he was ready, which is at around 30 years old. When the wife herself died, the son kept it safe until he himself got married and gave it to his wife so she would keep it safe to give it to her eldest child. The tradition continued like this until… until last century… a dark wizard was able to get a grasp on the ring and… well… you've probably heard of that before if you had history classes before, but basically he kinda destroyed half of this country… yeah that's why nobody should get the ring.” Rose finished talking and turned around as the bartender herself came to see them with a little plate. “Aaaahhh, yes.” She smiled and took what was on the plate, two mugs, then turned around to look at Ethan before sliding one mug his way. “Ain't allowed alcohol on the job so I'm uhm doing what I can with what I have” She drank what was in her mug, and Ethan looked into his. It looked like there was whipped cream on top and, curious, he took a sip. A soft giggle came out of his mouth when he realized what it was. He turned to Rose and looked into her mug. “Is that chocolate milk??”. The girl nodded, licking a bit of whipped cream that had gotten stuck on her upper lip. “Nice” He took another sip. “What's a… SOR?” He asked. Rose giggled and placed her mug on the table. “A weird name they give the sons who have inherited the ring. I think it's pretty easy to guess what it is, hehe.” She took a sip of her drink “It’s uh son of the ring, and uh I say SOR because that doesn't sound as stupid.” Ethan shrugged “Doesn't sound that bad to be honest..” he finished his drink “So what did you tell the barman?” He then asked, absentmindedly stroking Luna's head. Rose finished her drink and placed both mugs next to each other. “I asked her why there was barely anybody here. I had done a little scan of the perimeter before and didn't see anything suspicious, so I thought I'd ask the bartender to get more intel.” Ethan nodded. “Did she tell you anything?”. Rose drummed her fingers on the table, “Yeah…” she scooted a bit closer to Ethan and looked around, before leaning closer to his ear. “You've seen those flames coming out of that building earlier today, right?”. Ethan nodded. “You know what they mean, at least most of it, but you're not the only one who does. They all fled when they learned.” She leaned back. “I can't believe  _ he's _ back… and not only that, but…” her eyes widened with terror. “There's a very big chance that  _ he's _ the one who took the ring…” she grabbed his hand, and after putting some money on the table, quickly took out her wand and wiggled it around, the little star at the tip glowing as she said her spell. They quickly teleported out of the tavern and Ethan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw that they were in a room, a bedroom, to be exact. He looked around. He didn't recognize this place, so he assumed it was Mrs. Firedancer’s bedroom. It was a bit messy, as if she never had time to clean it, but very pretty nonetheless. It smelled like bread for some reason, and Ethan decided that he'd investigate it later. “Nice bedroom, but uhm…” he gasped “LUNA, SHE'S STILL IN TH-” he turned around as he heard a croak, and saw his pet and his hat both on the bed. Rose chuckled and shoved her wand in her pocket. “Hehe, don't worry, I didn't forget her!” Ethan gave a hug to the frog, then put his hat on his head and Luna back on his shoulder. “So what are we doing here?” he asked, looking at the wizard. She walked to her kitchen and looked around the shelves. There were alot of books on them, some of them seemingly falling into pieces while others looking brand new. “Wh-what’s all this?” Rose took out a squeaky clean book and slammed it on the table. “I'm searching for a specific book. I've heard a bit about black flames before, and...”, she opened the book and flipped through the pages, “...there's only one wizard powerful enough to do that…” she stopped at a page and looked at it closely. Ethan got closer and looked as well. He sighed and looked back up when he realized he couldn't understand anything that was written on it. “Oh, of course it's in some language I don't know…” Rose chuckled “It's alright, I can read it for you. It's old french, pretty easy to understand” she winked at him and looked at the page a bit more. As she did that, Ethan wondered if she was actually french. He did hear an unknown accent in her voice when she talked, and she sometimes had an odd way of pronouncing her “r”s. The girl cleared her throat and started reading. “At a very young age, Briac Tinderage started to study magic. He had been known to have great magical abilities, but, as he once confessed, felt like it was never enough. After an incident in his school that resulted with multiple student's deaths, the young wizard ran away from his village. He continued studying magic all alone, and each day he got closer to the dark arts. At age 16, he found the forbidden spell book, that had been supposedly destroyed back in 1768. The boy was able to learn most of the spells, and after managing to become immortal at the age of 17, he somehow lost the book. Unable to learn anything else, he then tried to create his own spells. At the age of 30, he created his famous dark flames, black and purple fire that negates the magic that touches it and destroys anything in its path. His quest is currently unknown, but it's known that even to this day, he wanders around the globe, killing millions of people, in a search of something that is yet to be determined.” Rose looked up and sighed, turning the page. On the second page was a photo, or maybe it was a drawing, of the dark mage, with some information underneath. The man looked very young, and Ethan assumed, by seeing the quality of the picture, that it was an old one. The dark wizard was wearing a dark robe and a cape, his brown hair cut short, leaving space to see his hate-filled eyes, red like blood, showing off an intimidating gaze to the camera man. Rose read the text. “Name: Briac Tinderage. His followers call him “The Dark Emperor”. Age: Currently unknown, as his birth year has not been shared. It has been estimated that he is around more than a hundred of years old.”

Ethan was practically shaking with fear, as so was Rose. She closed the book and sat down, putting her head in her hands and groaning, her hat falling from her head onto the ground. Ethan picked it up as he walked towards her, sitting on a chair besides her and placing the hat on the table. “If he gets that ring…. Then we're all doomed…” the girl whimpered, crossing her arms in front of her and shoving her face into them. Ethan looked at the closed book for a second. He then stood up and looked around the house. Rose looked up and made a confused and slightly panicked face. “H-hey!!! W-what are you doing??” Ethan took some more books and maps. “I'm making a plan.” He said as he placed them on the table. Rose looked at him. “A plan??”. Ethan nodded, flipping through the pages of the books, reading about spells, magical creatures, unexplored land and territory and the whole society that they lived in. Rose looked at the books. “Are you going to get the ring back??” She asked. Ethan nodded again and got out a map, then looked back up at the girl. “Do you have a pen?” Rose nodded and ran to her bedroom, quickly coming back with a red pen. She handed it to him and he looked at it for a second. “You don't mind if I write on there, do you?” Rose shaked her head, and Ethan started writing on the map. Circling places, crossing off others, drawing paths and roads, trying to find out where exactly the Dark Emperor was hiding. “So if we can arrive to his hiding spot before he gets the ring, we have a better chance to win… and also maybe kill him.” Rose said, grabbing her hat and placing back on her head. Ethan nodded and grinned. “That's right!” He said cheerfully, closing the maps and books he had scattered across the table, leaving only the big map open. Rose looked over his shoulder and pointed to an area in the mountains that had been circled a few times with the red pen. “According to the book, he was born near there, in a small village. Maybe we can start from here?” Ethan nodded, a bit surprised she had said what he was about to say. “Heh, yeah, I was about to say that.” the girl took a step back and looked down, a bit concerned. Ethan turned around and looked at her. “What's up?” Rose scratched her head. “We can't just leave our jobs like that!” She stayed silent for a while then straightened up. “W-wait! I can just say I've been asked to go on an escort mission or something. I can easily make fake official papers, so don't worry about that…” Ethan's eyebrows raised. “B-but what about me?” He asked. Rose smirked and looked at him. “That's the thing; you're the one I'm escorting”.

Ethan smiled and scratched his head, he was getting more and more motivated by the second. “So when do we start, Mrs. Firedancer?” He asked, his eyes sparkling with determination. She took out her wand and grinned. “We start now!” The girl then walked towards her bedroom, then did a double take and leaned back, staring at Ethan. “Oh, by the way, please call me Rose.” She then walked back into the room, and he followed her. “O-okay!”

It seemed like he really was going to have an exciting day after all….

 

****

 

Ethan tapped his foot on the floor of the car, looking out the window nervously. The sun was starting to set in the distance, and he sighed, hoping that everything would go according to plan. Footsteps were heard and Ethan looked outside again, seeing Rose arrive with a briefcase in her hands. She entered the car, passenger side, and Ethan started driving back to her house. “What's in there?” He motioned to the briefcase. She opened it and his eyes widened when he saw a few knives and guns. “Oh…” Rose giggled and closed the briefcase. “I took some precautions, who knows what that guy is capable of. We can never be too careful, y'know?” Ethan nodded and stopped the car, and they both got out, walking towards Rose's apartment. As soon as she unlocked the door, they both ran into the house, the false appearance of normality they were giving out when outside shattering, and they both started packing their things. Both putting in their bags clothes, maps and food. Ethan looked at Luna, and he wondered if he should bring her with him. She made a croak and bat her eyes, sending the signal that she wanted to go with him. The boy sighed and placed his arm on the bed, letting the frog hop on it and onto her favorite spot; his shoulder. He heard Rose move closer to him, and he turned around. “Have you seen my wand? I can't find it…” she looked around the room. Ethan blinked and looked at her pocket, where her wand was. “There.” Rose raised an eyebrow and looked into her pocket, sighing and taking it out. “Of course…” as she was about to put it back in her pocket, Ethan placed a hand on it and raised an eyebrow. “Your wand looks very interesting, you mind if I look at it for a second?” Rose shaked her head and gave it to him. The man inspected it from all angles. It seemed as if magic was seeping out of the wood, as if there was so much of it inside of the woman that it had gone into the object, and had a hard time coming back to their original host. It looked pretty simple. A straight branch of wood, probably oak, with a yellow star at the tip. It looked like a fairy wand. Although bigger. But still very light, as much as a feather. Ethan gave it back to Rose and she shoved it in her pocket, taking her bag in her hands and walking towards the door, the other wizard on her tail. “Where did you get that wand? It looks so old… is it a tradition as well, to give the eldest girl your wand?” Rose snorted and opened the door. “No, silly, it was my mother's, yes, but uhm she told me she found it in a normal wand shop after her old one broke. I thought it looked cool so I asked her if one day I could have it. And uhm… ” she slid into the car, passenger side again, “Well, when I passed the exam for the ministry, she decided to give it to me, as an early birthday gift, she said.” Ethan nodded and closed the car's door, before turning it on and driving. He knew that's not why this girl had gotten it. She probably didn't know the extent of her wand’s capacities. It was an elite wand, capable of withholding immense amounts of magic, made for extremely powerful wizards. And he could've sworn that he had seen it before, and not just in a wand shop. She was definitely lying. That, or she really didn't know. He'd have to look into it later. He gave a quick glance to the girl, who was looking out the window, Luna on her lap, probably asleep, lost in a pleasant dream accompanied by the girl's gentle and tender strokes on the frog’s back. Ethan smiled softly and turned his attention back to the road. He was actually extremely glad he wasn't doing this alone. It made the whole journey a bit less intimidating…

A few hours passed without any trouble. The road they took was clear enough for them to drive peacefully, and at that time of the night, it was even more than usual. It had started raining, and it was now pretty dark outside. Ethan looked out the window and sighed. “We should probably stop somewhere for the night. Me falling asleep on the road would not be a good idea…” he paused for a second, “I don't suppose you know how to drive, do you..?” Rose shook her head. “Sorry dude, I don't…” Ethan sighed and looked far into the road ahead. His eyes sparkled when he saw light, and he went a little faster. A hotel, small, but pretty nonetheless. He quickly decided that they'd stay there, and pulled over in the parking lot. As they entered, Ethan saw that his decision has been a good one, since the rain started pouring even more as soon as they passed the doors. The hotel seemed pretty nice and inviting, with a few people chatting in the hallway. He walked up to the counter, where a goblin was sitting, reading a magazine. The boy knocked on the counter, which made the creature yelp and fall off his chair. He quickly stood up and brushed off his shoulders with a terrified look. “W-what huh-” he saw Ethan and smiled, although it was a forced smile of an employee that probably didn't want to be here right now. “Hi! How may I help you?” His voice tone was way too cheerful, and a bit too loud. Ethan looked at Rose, who was now talking with the group of humans who were there. He turned his head back and looked at the goblin. “O-one room for two, do you have that?” the goblin smirked. “Ooohh, on a little honeymoon, are we..?” he said, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive way. Ethan blushed and quickly shook his hands in front of his face. “N-NO!! W-we’re just friends!!!” The creature shrugged and cackled. “D-do you h-have a room with two beds?” the young wizard then asked. The goblin shook his head. “Nah, sorry pal, looks like you'll be stuck with only one bed, unless you want separate rooms?” Ethan looked down, then shook his head. One room was safer for both of them. “Nah, I think we can manage with one room. It's only for one night after all...” The goblin smiled and gave him the key to his room. “There yah go. Have fun.” He then took back his magazine and mumbled something like  _ kids these days… _

Ethan walked towards Rose and tapped on her shoulder. She turned around and made a surprised noise. “One room?” Ethan nodded, and they took their bags, walking to their room. “Yeah, I had a bit of trouble, and I thought that one room would be safer for both of us, in case… y'know…” Rose nodded, and entered the room. “Yeah that does make se- oh, alright” she stopped her phrase when she looked at the bed. While it did look very comfortable and clean, the only problem was that there was only one of it. Ethan blushed and looked down, a bit embarrassed. “Y-yeah, there was no room with two beds left…” he scratched the back of his head. Rose chuckled and placed her bag on the floor. “Welp, guess that means we'll have to make do.” She winked. “I hope you're not too uncomfortable sleeping with a  _ girl _ ”. Ethan blushed harder and smiled nervously. “N-no, not at all…”.

A few minutes passed. They unpacked their things, and Ethan made a small bed for Luna with a few leftover pillows. The small frog seemed very content with her new bed, and quickly fell asleep. Rose was already in bed, and Ethan was trying to stall for time, sitting in a chair near the window. He was nervous. He had to admit it. But not just because of Rose, or the bed. There was so much going on right now. He felt as if he didn't have enough time to think about all of it. Everything went so fast, he felt like he was in a dream. A terrible, terrible dream.  _ “What if I don't get the ring in time… how bad will the consequences be… just how strong is this dark wizard…?”  _ . Noise and shuffling was heard, and Ethan raised his head, getting out of his thoughts. Rose yawned and got up, walking up to him. “Why aren't you asleep yet? If you're that uncomfortable I can just sleep on the floor, y'know… I'm kinda used to that...” Ethan shaked his head. “No no it's not that… I'm just thinking about… all this…”. Rose stayed silent and looked down. “Yeah, it must've been one hell of a day for you, huh?” She pat his shoulder and made a half-smile. “S'alright, I get yah. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. I have…” a shadow quickly passed in her gaze, before she cleared her throat and stood up quickly, her nightgown practically floating with her movements “A-anyways! We should go sleep. I want you completely awake tomorrow!” Ethan sighed and stood up as well, walking towards his bag and removing his shirt. It was getting a bit hot, after all. He then slowly walked towards the bed. He hesitated a bit, then climbed onto the warm and soft mattress, turning his back to his friend’s. Ethan felt sleep rapidly creep in, and closed his eyes, letting slumber take over.


	3. A New Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan and Rose go in the nearest town to investigate and meet some interesting people along the way

_ This dream again. Him all alone, in the middle of a circle of fire, at first crimson, orange, yellow, burning him, hurting him. Then this laugh. This haunting laugh, somehow familiar although he had never heard it before, and then the fire turns purple and black, and the pain stops, but there's still fear. There's still terror, there's still regret and there's still sadness. Then a shadow appears, bouncing on him, as the laugh gets louder. _

 

He didn't know what woke him up at first. He felt someone shake him, and call his name.  _ Ethan, wake up Ethan. _ He tried fighting back against that unknown force, before he opened his eyes, quickly sitting up on the bed, one arm raised above his head as he tried getting the other away from the tight grasp of the thing that he was fighting, ready to strike. He then stopped in his movement, panting heavily, cold sweat dripping from his face and chest, feeling something warm and pointy on his neck, yellow light reflecting on the walls of the room, the pale sheets of the bed and on his face as well as Rose's, who was panting softly, holding her wand in her hand with a serious and concerned expression. Ethan slowly pulled his hand down and turned his head around in shame.  _ This was a bad idea, he should've never gone to sleep on the first place,  _ he thought, burying his face in his hands. Rose placed her wand back under her pillow, and got a bit closer. “Nightmare, huh?” She whispered, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. In another context, he would've been flustered, embarrassed, maybe he would've brushed it off and gone back to sleep. But right now, it was as if something was practically forcing him to talk to her. He turned his head around, still not looking at her. It's not like he could even see a lot of her anyways. While the sky had cleared since they had fallen asleep, and the shy light of the stars was dimly lighting the side of her face, the light was not strong enough for him to see her whole face clearly. “Yeah, a nightmare… it's one that I get most of the time when I'm stressed…” he started breathing almost normally again, focusing on Rose's soft hand absentmindedly stroking his shoulder in a reassuring way. “What was it about..?” She asked quietly, looking down as well. Ethan sighed and passed a hand in his blonde hair. “It's… it's about… I can't really explain it… at first, there's fire everywhere… it hurts me and it burns my skin. Then the fire changes color and I hear this evil laugh, and it's terrifying, but I'm surrounded by fire so I can't get out. Then a shadow appears and jumps on me, and kills me.” Rose's hand tightened a bit, then she moved it to Ethan's back, and pulled him closer. He gasped softly, feeling her other arm wrap itself around his shoulder and back, as the first one moved behind his neck. He felt warmth all around him, and he smiled softly, hesitantly bringing his hands up and then hugging back. This hug somehow instantly called him down. As if she was absorbing all of his stress and fear, leaving only the good emotions in him. He hugged her more tightly, and felt a tear roll down his cheek. “There there, shhh… it's over now…” he could hear her whisper as she gently stroked his hair. After a while like this, she pulled back and looked at him. “I think we should go back to sleep now…” Ethan nodded and laid down on the bed, although this time facing Rose. He realized that one of her hands had placed itself on top of his, and it made him feel a bit safer. He closed his eyes and fell asleep again, this time, his slumber completely free of fear and death. 

He woke up a few hours later, feeling more relaxed than he had ever felt like before. Something warm was pressed against his chest, and he looked down curious. The wizard yelped and blushed madly, seeing that it was none other than Rose. They had probably cuddled in their sleep, seeing as the girl was still peacefully asleep, her face comfortably nuzzling against his neck and chest, her hair moving with her movements and tickling his skin. Ethan felt the girl's hands move in his back, and his eyes widened in terror. He had to get out of this rather comforting and relaxing embrace before she woke up, or it'll definitely get awkward. He looked down at her and tried to think of a plan. But he looked at her face closely, and smiled softly. She looked really cute, he had to admit, with that soft and pale face, and her squishy cheek pressed against his chest, her mouth a bit open, letting out very soft snores. Ethan shook his head and blushed. _ “Gaaahh!!! I can't think that!!! I barely know her!!”  _ he thought before he gently removed one of her hands around him and reluctantly got out of bed, trying to be as discreet as he possibly could. The wizard sighed and stroked the back of his neck with his hand, walking towards his bag and grabbing his clothes, before walking towards the bathroom. 

 

****

Rose woke up with a strange feeling in her body. She felt very relaxed, a feeling she hadn't felt in a while. She quickly stood up when she realized that Ethan was gone, wondering if anything happened, then heard movements in the bathroom and scratched her head. _ She had been sleeping in a weird position,  _ she thought, realizing that her arms were extended to the other side of the bed, that was still a bit warm. She stretched and yawned, then looked outside. The sun was bright, and the rain had completely stopped, although there were still a few gray clouds in the sky. A few puddles covered the dark road, reflecting the sunlight. 

Ethan got out of the bathroom, quickly finishing putting on his clothes, his hair still a bit damp from the shower he just took. The wizard opted for a simple t-shirt that day, and had decided to not wear his robe and hat, to gain less attention from the people around. He saw that Rose had gotten out of bed, and was now crouched on the floor, playing with Luna, who was awake as well. Ethan smiled and cleared his throat, catching the girl's attention. She turned around and quickly stood up, playing with the rim of her nightgown. “Heh, g-good morning!” Ethan said, stretching and grunting. Rose smiled and walked towards her bag, taking out her clothes and walking towards the bathroom. “Good morning! I hope you kept enough water for me...” She said jokingly, before entering the room and closing the door. Ethan sighed and moved back to his bag, placing the old clothes inside. Today, they would try and find the old village where The Dark Emperor lived long ago, and collect information to try and find out where he could be. The wizard heard the shower stop and raised his eyebrows.  _ “Already?” _ he thought, turning his head back towards the bathroom door. Rose got out a few minutes later, fully dressed, stretching and yawning. “Whoa, that was pretty fast..” Ethan said as he closed his bag. Rose nodded and walked up to her bag. “So do you have a plan for today? Or are we just gonna wander around and make it up as we go?” she then asked. The boy walked to Luna's bed and picked her up, placing the small frog on his shoulder, before turning around and looking at Rose, who had finished packing up her things. “Well, I looked at the map, and I've decided that we'll go pay Briac’s old town a little visit, since we're actually pretty near.” He took his wand out of his robe pocket and placed it in his pant’s front pocket. Rose looked at him go and grinned. “We'll also need to get you a scabbard. You don't wanna know what could happen if not…” Ethan looked up, a bit confused, and opened the door of the room. “A scabbard? What do you mean?”. Rose giggled and lifted up her shirt a bit, revealing her wand, nicely tuck into a small leather cover fixated on the belt keeping her pants in place. “This thing. It helps you not get your babymaker go  _ poof _ by accident, or anything of the sort. I've seen that happen before, and let me tell yah, it's not pretty…” They both stepped into the car and Ethan gave his friend a look of horror, quickly pulling his wand out of his pocket and placing it in the cupholder in between them. “Do they sell them anywhere?” Ethan asked as he started driving. Rose nodded and looked around. “Yeah, pretty much. If we find a convenience store we can go there and see if they have any…” 

The road was pretty quiet for the time they drove, the only sound heard being the cars passing by and the sound of the car's own wheels rolling on the slightly damp asphalt of the black road. Ethan started seeing trees mix themselves to the more rural and farm-like scenery, as the tall and big branches casted shadows over them more and more, until there were only trees around, and they started to tilt up, as driving up a mountain would, making it seem like the sun had been hidden behind dark clouds of rain with the numerous number of trees. Ethan saw a doe in the forest, who quickly ran away as she heard the car come closer.

After an hour or two, a few houses were appearing in the distance, and they finally arrived in the village. A small village, probably the type where everyone knew everyone. Seeing as they had to go through a forest and hours of driving, it was probably not a very popular or populated village, which would, Ethan thought, make it easier for them to find what they were searching for. Suddenly, Rose stood up in her seat and tapped on Ethan's shoulder. “OH, STOP HERE!”. The wizard quickly stopped to a small convenience store. And by small, it really was small, the two wizards realized when they got out of the car and walked inside the building. It seemed as if all the items, shelves and furniture were about to get crushed under the extremely low ceiling, that seemed like it was about to crumble. The rest of the place, however, seemed brand new, with a shiny black counter, sparkling wooden shelves and a checkered black and purple floor. The human male at the counter seemed like he was around 15, asleep with his feet on the counter. Rose quickly looked around and smiled, spotting a small stand near the counter. On it were little scabbards, the size of a wand, made with either leather or some sort of plastic, each of them with an encryption or a drawing carved onto them. Rose turned the stand around and looked at them while Ethan walked up to her. The girl quickly stopped the object and took out one of the scabbards. It had a little flower on it, and was made out of dark brown leather. She slammed it on the counter, which made the teenager scream and fall, making the chair he was sitting on fall as well in a loud  _ clank.  _ Rose made a terrified face and quickly ran to the kid, kneeling down and helping him up. “Hehe, sorry kiddo, you okay?” The human nodded, patting the ground around him, trying to find his glasses. He found them and placed them on his nose, then stood up and sat back on his chair. Ethan looked at the kid. He looked really tired. “Rough night?” The human looked at Ethan with a slightly fearful expression. “Yeah. You probably saw it yesterday though, that creepy dude knows how to make an entrance, I tell yah.” Rose walked back next to Ethan and frowned. “W-what creepy dude..? What happened yesterday?” She asked, concerned and looking at her partner. The teenager looked surprised, then yawned and scratched his head. “Oh, sorry, I guess you're not from around here, huh?” He took the scabbard in his hands and scanned it, before giving it to Ethan and holding out his hand. “He comes here every year, don't know why though, but this year it was really…” he tried to find his words, and Ethan took the opportunity to give him the money. “It was really explosive, I guess you could say it like that…” he said, placing the money in the cash register. “Is that all?” Rose asked to the teen. He yawned again and looked at the pair. “If yah want more information, I guess you can go talk to the other townspeople, they'll give you more info than I can give yah…”. Ethan nodded and they both walked out of the store, but before they got past the door, the teenager waved his hand “H-hey! Are you cops or somethin’?” Ethan shrugged and smiled “Something like that, yeah..” He opened the door “Thanks for the info, kiddo! Take care!” The wizard said before closing the door. As soon as they entered the car, he turned to Rose with a scared expression. “He meant Briac, right?”  Rose nodded. “Yeah, there's no doubt…” she then placed her hand on his shoulder. “Oh, wait, you need to put on your scabbard!” Ethan nodded and quickly put it on his belt, then slid his wand inside. The scabbard, who at first seemed too big for the wand, started to bend and stretch, before changing back to a smaller version of itself, a perfect fit for Ethan's wand. The wizard’s eyes widened in awe. “Whoa, that's pretty neat!” He said poking the leather cover with his finger. Rose giggled and smiled. “Hehe, I knew you'd like it.” Ethan smiled back and turned on the car, quickly driving deeper into the village. It seemed pretty quiet, and Ethan guessed that all the people were inside their homes or other buildings. He then stopped near a restaurant and they both stepped outside. The restaurant looked like it was full. “Stay there, I think I'll make a reservation, we can come back in an hour or two..” Ethan said, quickly entering the restaurant. Rose looked around the village. It was almost dead quiet, with the exception of a dog barking in the distance, and two girls walking on the boardwalk on the other side of the street, talking about who knows what. She heard someone cough, and turned around, taking out her wand instinctively as she walked towards the noise. There laid a man, his pale blue and red robe dirty and stained, who had probably fallen and was now trying to get up, trying to steady himself on his weak and shaky hands. He slipped, and fell on his face. Rose winced and helped him up, as Ethan got out of the restaurant and saw them. “Whoa, what happened there?” he exclaimed, quickly running up to them and helping the man. He reeked of alcohol, and his eyes were red and puffed, as if he had been crying recently. “You okay?” Ethan asked him. The man covered his head with his hand and groaned. “I… don't even know anymore…”. Ethan frowned and looked at the wizard, as he definitely was one, judging by the robe. “What's your name?” He asked, and the man turned to him, looking at him with an intensity Ethan had never seen before. “I’m John…” he said, before grunting and wincing in pain, shutting his eyes quickly. “I'm Ethan, and this is Rose. Can you tell us where you live?” Ethan said. John nodded and made a motion with his head to a house that was visible from the other side of the street. “Right there…” he stopped and coughed, and Rose took a step back instinctively. Ethan looked at the girl. “Are you able to teleport all three of us? I don't think the car will be necessary for such a short distance, and you know where we have to go…” Rose took out her wand again and wiggled it in the air. They quickly teleported on the front lawn of the house. The grass was long and a hoard of dandelions had invaded the place. A few bugs were lazily flying around on the wild flowers that had started  to grown in the patch of green. The house was in an even worse state. It was small, with a few windows dirty, scratched, or both, and the walls stained, vines growing on the pale brown bricks all around. It got even more apparent once they got inside. There were bottles of beer and vodka lying around on the floor, some of them broken, with shards everywhere. A few old newspapers were scattered on the table, with a half-eaten sandwich on top of a small plate lying on that same table, as if he had started eating it but gave up halfway and never touched it afterwards. They walked to his bedroom, on the same floor as the rest of the rooms. As they approached it, the faint smell of litter and febreze finding a way inside if their noses. The door of the bedroom opened slowly, and Rose pointed her wand at the crack. She quickly took it away when she saw a small cat come out, meowing softly and walking towards them. John smiled and kneeled down to take the animal in his hands. Ethan looked at Luna, still on his shoulder, who was getting a bit agitated. He gently pat her head, trying to reassure her. She didn't really like cats, although he could guess that she was currently trying her best to not run away. John stood up and cradled the cat in his arms. “That's Sophie, my cat.” He said, before weakly moving towards his bedroom, and laying down on his bed with an exhausted sigh. “Do you need anything?” Ethan asked. John shook his head and sighed again. “The only thing I want is to know where…” he stopped and turned on his side, Sophie hopping out of the bed. Ethan got a bit closer, as Rose started looking around the room. “... where what..?” Ethan asked. “Are you searching for something? Maybe we can help…”. John groaned and turned back to face the wizard, a sad and hopeless look on his face. “Well, it's not like I have much to lose anyway…” He sat up on his bed and inhaled. “A few years back, I started doing research on a mysterious dark wizard called The Dark Emperor. I learned that he wanted… well… to be immortal. You see, he's not completely immortal right now… the spell he used simply makes him look young. Yes, he's aging more slowly, but this combined with a simple illusion spell makes it look like he's just as young as he was a hundred years ago.” The drunken man leaned closer to Ethan and looked at him dead in the eye. “But you know what he's after? True immortality. And power. There's only one thing that can grant him that, and it's the scepter of Eternity, a scepter enchanted by ancient magical beings that's, according to the legends, capable of granting you immense knowledge, power, life… whatever you desire. But for that, he needs to know where it's located, and…” John looked down. “I'm the only one who knows…” Ethan looked at Rose, then back at John. “A-and what do you need to get back? Is it something he stole from you?” Ethan asked. John nodded sadly, his eyes watering. “Not something… some _ one _ .” He said weakly, gripping the dirty blue sheets underneath him. Sophie hopped back on the bed and crawled on her master's lap, making an understanding face, and John gently pet her as he kept talking. “His name is Nick, he's just a human and he didn't know what I was doing. The Emperor took him as some sort of… threat, or emotional blackmail…” Ethan placed a hand on John's shoulder and looked at him. “I think we can help you.” John looked up. “W-what do you mean..?” He asked weakly. Rose walked up to them and kneeled down next to Ethan. “The Dark Emperor stole something from us too. If we can get it, then maybe we can find your boyfriend.” She said, smiling softly. John's eyes brightened up a bit. “Do you know where he is? The Emperor, I mean.” he asked. Rose shook her head. “Sadly, we don't. But that's why we're here.” She suddenly stood up. “Ethan, I have a plan.” she made a motion with her hand and they walked near a wall. “What's up?” Ethan asked. “What if we bring him with us? Maybe he can help us, and he seems pretty desperate right now, so we can't just leave him like that, can we?” Ethan shrugged, then looked at the man behind him. John was looking out the dirty and cracked window near his bed with a regretful expression. In the clear light of the day barely passing through the stains on the glass and through the particles of dust flying around the place, his dark circles under his red eyes and tired and nervous traits seemed to be more apparent, adding to that sad face a few more years to his already undefinable age. “Yeah, you're right… we'll need a guide if we want to look around the town, anyway…” he said quietly, patting the girl on the shoulder. “Have you found anything while looking around the house?” Rose shook her head. “Unless you're talking about endless stacks of bottles of beer, no, nothing.” She scratched her head and looked at John with a pitied expression. “This guy is down in the dumps, the poor thing. Just look at him, you can easily guess he's blaming himself in some way for Nick's disappearance…” Ethan looked surprised. “How'd you guess that?” .Rose smirked. “It's my job...

“. Ethan chuckled. “A-anyways, this is why we should help him. And he seems to be getting more nervous by the second, c'mon, we should go talk to him.” They both walked towards the man. “So, John, we've decided to bring you along, as our official guide of this place.” Ethan said. John looked up, surprised. “O-oh, really?” he asked. Rose nodded. “We've never been here before and we thought that it was probably best to ask someone for help to know where we should go.” John's eyes sparkled and he smiled softly. “W-well, I'll be happy to help you!” He exclaimed, standing up happily. He walked to his closet and looked inside it for a while, taking out various objects like clothes, cat toys and a basketball ball. Ethan walked closer to the man, a bit confused as to what he was doing. A few seconds later, John got out a small dagger and scabbard and, with a triumphant look on his face, attached them on him, under his robe, before placing the robe back on top of the scabbard, hiding it. Ethan was still a bit confused. “Don't you have a wand? Why use a dagger?” He asked. John looked a bit sad, and took Sophie in his arms. “It broke…” he simply said. Rose gasped in horror “BROKE????!! You poor thing!!!” she said sadly, bringing her hands to her mouth. Ethan instinctively clutched his wand in his hand, hearing that word. In the wizard world, a wand, an almost unbreakable item, was connected to the user. It was like a part of the wizard’s body, deeply connected to their mind, and if it was broken, there was a high chance that the wizard would go insane or have severe repercussions on their brain. Some wizards had been said to have gone mad, some even killed themselves, claiming that there was a hole in their heart that could never be filled. But seeing that someone survived such a trauma was probably the most surprising thing of this whole confession. John looked at Sophie, who had hopped out of his arms when he took his dagger and had now snuggled back in after that, and she licked his nose. “It's alright, I'm fine, I swear... I just need a new wand…” he said calmly, petting his cat.  Ethan wiped his forehead nervously “Is there a wand shop nearby? We can always get you a new one…” John shrugged. “Yeah, here is, and yeah, I guess it's better that I get a new one.” He said as he started walking outside of his room, Ethan and Rose on his tail. They walked all the way back to the car, since it wasn't too far away. Ethan looked around, then turned to John. “Can you guide us to the shop?” He asked, opening the trunk of the car and taking out his robe as well as Rose's. They'd need them if they wanted to get into the shop, at least that's what he did when he got his wand. Wand shops didn't allow wizards who didn't have a robe, for extra security measures. When you passed the age of 16 and registered for your official identity card, a card that states your name, age and profession, changing by itself when the wizard gets a new job or gets older, a robe and a pass for a wand were also offered, as a way to say that yes, you were now officially recognized as a wizard. Dark sorcerers are usually known to not having a robe or an identity card, so it's easier to spot them this way. 

As Ethan and Rose put on their robes, John pointed to the road. “It's there” he said. “Can we walk there?” Ethan asked. John nodded. “Yeah, it's not that far…”. Rose stood up straight and cleared her throat. “GREAT! If we go now we'll have a bit more time to explore the town before dinner.” She started walking, and the two boys followed her. Sophie walked besides her owner and Luna hopped off Ethan's shoulder, hiding in his robe’s pocket. As they walked, Ethan looked around the town. The streets were still quiet, with a few strange stains and marks on the ground and walls, and the closer they got to their destination, the more there were. Ethan passed a hand on one burn mark on the ground. There were some residues of magic still emanating from it, like steam from a newly extinguished fire. After they got out of the wand shop, they'd have to investigate on that. Then, he realized that he could simply ask John, him being a resident in the town. He picked up the pace and walked next to John. “Hey, John, can I ask you a question?” John nodded, looking down as he kept walking. “Sure.” 

“What were you doing yesterday night?”

John looked a bit surprised. “I was at home, drinking. Why?”

“Did you see something suspicious?”

“No, I did hear explosions in the distance, but I guessed they were fireworks or something.”

Ethan passed a hand on his face and groaned. He had to find this man. He had to. Before it was too late.

The shop appeared in the distance. It looked ancient, a huge contrast with the other more recent looking buildings. Built in dark purple-ish wood with four round tinted windows, the building looked like the house of a supervillain more than a regular wand shop. Ethan looked at Rose, a bit confused, and she shrugged. It had to be it, since the metal panel in front on the shop had “ _ IZZY'S WANDS AND SCEPTERS _ ” written in big white letter over the dark and slightly rusty steel. “That's a weird looking wand shop, you sure it's there?” Rose asked. John nodded. “Be careful, the owner's a bit… weird sometimes. She's still cool though.” he walked up the wooden stairs, each of them making a different sounding creak under his steps, the two ministry workers walking behind him with uncertainty. John opened the door carefully, the little bell in the doorway making a high-pitched jingle. The place looked considerably bigger on the inside than outside, as if it was only an optical illusion. Rose and Ethan looked around, awestruck. This place was very neat. The walls were purple like the outside of the ship, although in a lighter shade, and the floor was made of old wood planks, creaking under their steps. There were a multitude of shelves and stands, filled with neatly placed wands and scepters, and as Ethan looked closer, he saw that they were organized in alphabetical order, each artifact with a name of it's own.  _ Dreambinder, Firestorm, Stalk of Illusion, Soul Spire…  _ he rapidly skimmed through the names of the wands, before looking at the ceiling. The roof was made to look like a night sky, full of stars, shining bright with a crescent moon in the middle, and reflection on all the objects below. There was a faint smell of incense in the air,and a few pastel blue and pink candles floating around the place, leaving behind them a delicious aroma of strawberry or blueberry. In the back of the shop was a small wooden counter. The trio and their pets walked to it, and found that it was empty. “Looks like she's not here…” Rose said, looking around. John rang the small red bell on the bottom left corner of the furniture, and as soon as he did, a poof of green smoke appeared. Both Rose and Ethan stepped back, startled. The smoke quickly disappeared, revealing a coughing wizard. She looked a bit confused for a second, then looked up, replacing her big round purple sunglasses on her face. She gasped and grinned when she saw the wizards, then stood up straight, wiping away a bit of dust from her black robe. “Oooh! John! Long time no see!” She walked towards the man and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Who are those bozos? They here for a wand?” She turned to Rose and Ethan. John shook his head. “N-no Izzy, sorry to disappoint. I'm the one who needs a wand…” he looked down in shame. “It broke…”. Izzy gasped in a theatrical manner, her eyes widening behind her glasses. “BROKE?? WHEN???” she screamed, grabbing John's shoulders and shaking him. “ARE YOU OKAY DUDE???” John let her finish before he started talking. “It broke two months ago, and yeah, I'm okay.” The wizard said calmly, replacing his robe on his shoulders. Izzy wiped her forehead, tapping her foot nervously on the floor. “No no, that's not good at all… I hope I have another wand that fits you… or else you'll have to go somewhere else…” she looked around the room, then suddenly walked towards a random shelf, grabbing a few boxes, then another shelf, and another one. She came back to the group. “Okay, we'll have to go to this room over there.” she pointed to a small door near the counter. “This is the choosing room, it helps the wand and the wizard.. uuuhh…” she squinted, trying to find her words “...connect better!”. Izzy clapped hands and walked towards the door. She took out her wand and waved it in front of the black ebony door, that opened slowly. She then turned to Rose and Ethan, and smiled. “Don't worry, I'm sure it won't take long. Although you know how it is sometimes…” she looked at John who had already entered the room, making sure he couldn't hear her. “He doesn't seem like his normal self… has anything happened lately?” she whispered to the both of them. She then stopped, and inspected them. “Wait, who are you guys? Are you friends with John?” Rose quickly got out her card and showed it to Izzy. She raised her eyebrows in shock, then replaced her glasses on her face, moving the card closer to her face as if it would help her see better. “M-ministry workers???” she gave the card back to Rose. “I-is this about th-the creepy guy who came here yesterday? He didn't seem to… I don't understand..” Rose placed the card back in her pocket and looked at Izzy. “Don't worry about it for now. We'll ask you more questions once John gets his wand.” she said reassuringly. Izzy nodded, and walked to the small room, the door closing silently behind her. 


	4. Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More investigation occurs, but also some drama and sadness oooOOOooOOohHHh

John turned around when he heard the door close, and smiled nervously, wishing he still had Sophie with him, and wondered how she was doing on the other side of the room, all alone with strangers. Izzy cleared her throat and waved her wand, as a small ivory table came out of the ground. She placed the boxes containing the wands on it, then opened one and walked up to John. She handed him the wand, then took a few steps back. “Okay, so just… wave it around, try to do spells you know, see if it works… y'know the deal, you've been here before.” Izzy said as she walked besides the small table. John looked at the wand. He pointed it to an empty box and twirled it in the air, tracing patterns with it. The box didn't move. Neither did the wand. John sighed and Izzy took the wand back. “I guess this didn't work… did you try an easy spell?” She asked, placing the wand back in the box and taking out another one. John nodded and took the next wand. “Levitation. That's like, level 1 in spells. I guess this wand just wasn't for me.” He waved the wand around and it flickered a bit, a few sparks flying out of the tip, but nothing more. John sighed and placed the wand back in its box.

A few minutes passed, and there were only three wands left. Izzy smiled and patted John's shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. “C'mon, I'm sure you'll be fine.” The man took the wand and waved it around, although he wasn't even concentrating on his spell anymore. He sat on the ground and groaned, burying his face in his hands. “Ooohhh I'll never be able to get a new one… maybe it's better off like this anyway…” he whimpered and fell on his side, getting into a ball and rocking a bit up and down. Izzy walked up to him and crouched. “Okay, what's wrong. You're not acting like yourself. I've been trying to avoid it but it's kinda creeping me out at that point.” She pointed to his face “You look like you forgot the meaning of happiness. Are you actually John or his sad sad evil twin?” John looked at Izzy and frowned. “Nick disappeared…” he simply said. Izzy stood up in shock. “W-what happened? Who did this??” She exclaimed. John stood up and waved his wand around. “The Dark Emperor.” The wand lit up, its light reflecting on the dark walls of the room as the small rectangular box slowly flew up in the air. Izzy smiled and clapped her hands. “Ooh! Looks like you found your wand! Good job!” The door opened and Izzy quickly got out, levitating the boxes to their original shelves. John got out slowly, looking at his wand. Sophie ran up to him and jumped in his arms, happy to see her master again, followed by the other two wizards. The trio walked to the counter and John gave the money to Izzy. “Do you still have a scabbard? I can give you one if you want.” She said, looking through the cupboard under her counter. She got out an old scabbard and gave it to John. “T-thanks, I lost mine when the wand broke…” he took it and placed the wand inside the plastic cover, which moved and reformed to fit the wood. Ethan smiled.  _ He'd never get tired of seeing that. _

Rose then walked up to the counter, replacing her hat and looking at Izzy. “Now, I told you that we'd ask you a few questions regarding last night. And I still stand by it.” Izzy sighed and stood up straight. “Well, I didn't see a lot. It happened late at night, and by the time I arrived it was pretty much over.” she played with her blonde braided hair nervously, trying to remember what happened. “It was at around 1 AM. I was in my room, m-my house is right next to the shop, polishing a wand I had finished making, when I heard screams, and then an explosion. The village is usually pretty quiet around here, so I was really surprised. It was close to where I was too, so I tried running outside as fast as I could, but I arrived to late, and I don't know what happened, but I saw a guy, black robe, no hat, long curly brown hair, running away from the village. I felt this... trail of darkness follow him.” She shivered. “It was so strong… but I don't know who that was…”

Rose tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “Is that all..?” She asked. Izzy nodded. “Yeah. Nothing else happened after that, and I went back to sleep.” 

Rose nodded as well, looking down in concern. “Do you know anybody who could've seen what happened that night?” She asked the blonde wizard. Izzy stayed silent for a while, then her face lit up. “There's Fred! He lives closer to where I heard the explosion, and he usually stays up late. I'm sure he'll be able to tell you more!” She looked at the clock. “He usually goes to the Laughing Centaur at around this hour, so I'm sure you can find him there.” Ethan raised his eyebrows. “Hey! That's the restaurant where I made a reservation!” He said happily. Rose smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it is! I guess this'll be easier than we thought, huh?”. Izzy sighed. “M-maybe I could come with you? I haven't eaten all day, and I could help you spot the guy.” Ethan nodded. “Sure, it'll make our job easier.” Rose leaned close to his ear, whispering in it with a slightly annoyed tone. “I ain't paying for her meal thought.”. Ethan snickered and patted her shoulder. “Don't worry, you won't.” 

John shrugged and looked around, feeling a bit out of place, gently stroking Sophie's head. “I guess I'll just… go…” he said softly, motioning towards the door. Izzy grabbed his robe and yanked him back into place. “Hell no, you're coming with me! And don't worry dude, I'll pay.” She made a thumbs up and smiled brightly. 

  
  


****

 

They arrived at the restaurant. It seemed less full than before, and Ethan thanked the gods it wasn't. In case anything bad happened, it would be better with less people in the way. They walked to their table, and Izzy pointed to a man sitting at a table near them. He was with a girl, who seemed asleep on the opposite side of the table. “Is that Fred?” Ethan asked, looking at the guy. He looked human. He had no robe, no hat and no wand. He was wearing a simple black T-shirt and ripped jeans, and seemed extremely tired, yawning continuously and replacing his large glasses in his face. Izzy nodded. Ethan removed his robe, letting Luna out of the pocket and hop on his shoulder, then got up and went towards him. Fred looked up, a bit surprised, and smiled nervously. “Ministry workers, huh?” Ethan looked a bit surprised, and took a seat. “Y-yeah… I'm here to ask a few questions…” This guy was giving off weird vibes, especially by the way his eyes looked. There was a strange glow in his eyes, something not completely human. “And nonetheless, Magical Anomalies and Magical Security ones…” Fred then added, taking a sip of his soda. Ethan was a bit shocked. He had just read his mind. Or at least, a portion of it. Ethan was about to introduce himself and Rose, make the man a bit more intimidated, but in the end, it seems like it didn't work the way he wanted. Fred chuckled. “Sorry, I should stop that, it creeps people out…” he replaced his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “I'm not completely human, no, since that's probably what you're wondering. Half Satori [1] , from my dad's side. It's a long story, I don't think you'd want to listen.” Ethan nodded. “Mhm, thank you… do you know why we're here?” Fred shook his head. “There are some things I can't hear, so you'll have to ask me your questions.” 

Ethan leaned over on the table. “You were here yesterday night when there were explosions, correct?” 

Fred nodded.

“Did you see what happened?”

“It was like in a movie. There was this guy, he was shouting “Your Emperor is back!!!” and shot some kind of black fire at a few houses with this big scepter… and there were some kind of shadowy creatures following him, like black clouds in the shape of big scary beasts... it was pretty scary, this I can tell you.”

He took another sip of his drink.

“What did he look like?” Ethan asked.

“He looked like… like someone who had finally accomplished his goal in life. There was this look in his eyes, some kind of twisted happiness…” he shivered. “It was so creepy, dude… and how he was dressed… definitely not a normal wizard… his robe was completely black, and not the standard type of robe. It had this high turned up collar, black like the rest of his clothes… his hair was dark… I can't remember the exact color, but I think it was brown, and-” Fred stopped talking and looked up, a horrified look on his face. “O-oh… I'm sorry… s-should I stop…?” Ethan looked confused for a second, then realized that the man had heard him think about his parents. It was an image that came back a lot. Everytime someone would describe The Emperor, he'd remember the first time he saw him. Surrounded by flames, darkness, death. Fred looked around nervously. “Y-you've seen the... Emperor before? Th-that's his name, huh…” He gently patted his hand. “I'm sorry for what happened…” Ethan smiled. “Thank you.” There was not much he could say, seeing that the man could read his mind, a lie would be impossible to make. “And thank you for your answers, they were helpful!” He smiled again, then stood up and walked back to his table. Rose looked at him. “So? Did you get what you were searching for?” Ethan sighed, looking at his plate of food. “Yeah. I guess he really did get the ring. Like Fred described, he seemed happy, like he accomplished his goal. So… he got the ring…” he started eating, slowly, almost by rote. Rose looked down for a second. She then looked up, and patted Ethan's back, smiling softly. “Don't worry, I'm sure we can still get it back!” Ethan looked at her and smiled back. “Heh, thanks.” Izzy wasn't at the table, and Rose looked around. “Where's Izzy?” She asked John. He shrugged. The woman at Fred's table stood up and walked towards the bathroom, but on her way, she bumped into Izzy, who was getting out. They both stopped in their paths, and they talked. Izzy then walked towards her table with an angry face.”I saw  _ her,  _ what's she doing here…” she said to John, and John shrugged again. “As long as you don't rope me into your arguments again…” 

Ethan looked at both wizards, but decided to not ask questions, as it was better if he stayed out of it. The woman walked out of the bathroom and, instead of going to her table, instead walked to theirs. She slammed her fists on the wooden plank, her gigantic breasts jiggling with the force of the impact. She looked mad, and was staring right at Izzy. “What do you want?” The wizard said to the brunette, still not looking up, and the human scoffed and walked back to her table. Izzy groaned and stood up, each of her steps loud to exaggerate her anger. She grabbed the woman by the collar and started yelling at her. The woman pushed her and Izzy fell down. Before he knew it, they both started fighting, throwing plates and utensils at each other and calling each other names. Ethan ran up to them and broke them up. “Stop it! This is a public place! If you want to fight at least do it outside!” Izzy growled and the woman smirked. “Awwe, you had to ask for help because you couldn't defend yourself properly?” She pointed to Ethan with her chin. “At least take someone who wasn't abandoned by his parents.” Ethan looked at her. He heard a chair move behind him, and Rose stood up, taking out her wand with a slightly annoyed expression. “Don’t. Start.” She said dryly, and Ethan could've sworn he had heard her say  _ fuckin bitch  _ under her breath. The brown-haired woman frowned. “Why? I'm tired and pissed and I don't even care anymore.” She kicked Izzy in the stomach, and the blonde grunted, taking out her wand as well. Ethan felt Luna crawl under his hat in fear and he placed a hand on Izzy's shoulder to try and calm her down. “C-can we please… stop…” he said softly. People were starting to gather around the group, and he didn't want this to escalate any further. Izzy stood up, and replaced her hat on her head. “Only if she promises to stop.” The woman growled and looked at Izzy. “Why would I stop? It's fun to see her get mad.” Izzy waved her wand around in the air and yelled out an insult about the woman's political standing, before shattering a plate on her face. The food that was still on it slowly fell off her hair and face, her now completely ruined makeup dripping from her face with a mix of chemicals and sauce. She grunted and punched Izzy in the face, and the wizard started throwing punches as well. A few other wizards, somehow encouraged by the fight, started fighting as well, and before Ethan could do anything, food was flying out everywhere, and spells were as well. He felt something tug on his arm, and pull him out of the restaurant. He fell on his back and looked around, then saw Rose, John and his cat, all of them covered in food. Ethan looked at Rose. She looked angry, and her wand was out, glowing softly in the now dark village. “Are you okay?” she said, wiping away food that was on her robe. Ethan nodded. She handed him his robe, that he had left on his chair, and he quickly put it on.  _ He couldn't be separated from it for too long _ . “Yeah… will Izzy be okay?” He asked John. The man shrugged and let Sophie hop out of his arms. The cat looked terrified, and she quickly ran away. “I guess she will. She's been in fights before. She'll get out.” he removed his robe and sighed. “I think I should go home. It's getting late and, no offense, I'm not sure that I want to follow you two into whatever crazy journey it seems you've gotten into.” He looked down. “A-although I'm very glad that you've decided to help me find Nick… s-so I guess I can give you more information, and help you go a bit faster in your searches.” He waved his wand around, and a small pile of paper flew out of the house, flying through the air and landing in his open hand. The pile was tied down by a red ribbon, and the whole thing looked ancient. He handed it to Ethan and did a half-smile. “Here, in this pile of paper is everything that has ever been found out about the Scepter of Eternity, and a few personal notes on the ring and its effects on the scepter and wearers.” Ethan took the object and held it close, then looked at John. “Thanks. And thank you for all of your help. We'll make sure we find Nick and bring him back.” He held out his hand and John shook it, before he turned around and walked back home. Ethan sighed and walked to the car. But then he turned around and looked at Rose. She had been silent for a while. “You okay?” He asked her. She nodded slightly and stayed silent, then walked to the car and got in. Ethan got in as well. He'd ask her questions when they found a place to stay for the night. The road was still clear, and the village was silent. Ethan stopped when he saw a small hostel, and walked out, carefully placing the pile of paper in his bag and levitating it to the entrance, Rose following him close behind. They found a room, two beds this time, and quickly settled in. As Ethan placed his robe back in his bag and took out the papers John gave him, placing them on the nightstand beside his bed, Rose got up and walked towards the bathroom, and Ethan looked up at her. “H-hey, why are you going...” Rose looked down and sighed. “I just need to wash myself, I feel dirty from the food fight…” the girl said quietly, her voice slightly cracked. Ethan frowned a bit. “O-okay…” he said hesitantly as he watched Rose enter the bathroom and close the door. He heard the water turn on and as he did, Ethan opened the gift, carefully undoing the ribbon. He skimmed through the document, and his face lit up with excitement. In here was so much information on the scepter, its location, powers, and why it had been hidden. Ethan looked at the last page, and on it was written in black ink four words. “ _ DO NOT TRUST HIM.”  _ Ethan looked at those words and looked a few pages back, but couldn't find anything that could talk about who “him” was. A loud noise made the wizard jump. It came from the bathroom. Ethan quickly got up and opened the door, looking around. “Rose?? Was that you???” The water was still running, but faintly, behind the noise of the shower, he began to hear sobs. Ignoring his instincts telling him to not get closer, he pulled on the shower curtain and gasped. Rose was indeed there, in a ball on the floor, one of her hands on her face trying to block the tears coming out of her eyes. Ethan took out a towel and quickly wrapped it around the girl, then pulled her closer. “Are you okay? W-what happened??” He looked all over her body, trying to see if she was hurt, but didn't see any wounds. He looked back at her, who was still crying, and hesitantly brought up one of his hands to her head, gently stroking her wet hair. He wasn't going to ask her anything. At least, not yet. She seemed too broken at the moment. Rose's cries started to soften, and she slowly wrapped her arms around Ethan's neck, burying her face in the crook of it, the contact of her mouth on his skin muffling her voice as soon as she did. They stayed like this for a while.  _ How long? He didn't know. One minute? Five? Twenty? _ He kept hugging and stroking her hair for as long as it took before she calmed down. Once her breathing finally started getting slow and soft, he moved his body to look at her. She was looking at the ground, and although it seemed she had mostly calmed down, Ethan could see that there was still sadness in her eyes. “A-are you okay?” She didn't say anything, and simply looked to the side. Ethan sighed softly, wondering what he should do with her. Her forehead pressed against his chest, and he felt her hands start to let go of him, like drained of all energy. Slowly, gently, carefully, he lifted her up and brought her to her bed. She started shivering, and he gasped softly, looking around for clothes he could give her. He looked into her bag and got out a pajama, quickly walking back to Rose. He kneeled down and looked at her. “D-do you mind if I…” she nodded and sat up, her movements trembling and slow. Careful not to look at her too much, he pulled down her towel, then quickly placed the long-sleeved pajama on her back, lifting each of her arms gently to pass them in the sleeves. He looked to the side, blushing a bit “D-do you want me to button it up m-myself..?” she nodded and he started closing the pajamas, slowly passing each buttons in their respective holes, from the tip to the bottom. His hands then stopped and jerked upwards as soon as they finished closing the pajama, as if he had touched a hot stove. He quickly looked away, blushing madly and thanking the gods that the towel had landed on her lap. “Y-you think you can do the pants..?” Rose nodded and quickly put them on, while, Ethan leaped to his own bed, away from danger. He waited until she was done, and moved back to her. “Hey… w-what's wrong..?” He tilted his head to look at her, and the girl looked away. “Don't wanna talk about it too much…” she said weakly. A few strands of Rose’s wet hair fell in front of her eyes as she moved her head. “Just something that girl at the restaurant said… nothing to worry about for now…” Ethan moved a bit closer and placed a hand on hers. He had noticed that she had reacted immediately after the woman had talked about Ethan's parents, although he had quickly brushed that off. The wizard nodded and gently stroked her back. He wasn't going to ask questions if she didn't feel like talking. “Is there anything I can do for now..?” Ethan asked softly. Rose stayed silent, and looked down. She mumbled something, and Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Hm? What did you say?” He asked, leaning closer. She moved her mouth close to his ear, and, faintly, he heard her say “ _ sleep with me” _ . The man gasped and pulled back, a bit surprised. “O-oh…” he said, feeling heat creep up his face. Rose closed her eyes and scooted away from him. “It's alright… I just… I realized I slept really well, maybe even better than I ever did the last time we…” her voice slowly faded, and she shook her head “N-nevermind… this wasn't a good idea…”

Ethan moved closer to her. “No, it's okay, if you think it'll help you, then we can do that…” Silence set in the room, but a  comfortable silence, accepting, comforting and friendly. Rose moved and slowly crawled inside the covers. Staying up for a few more seconds, Ethan turned to look at the window and sighed. They could try and find a solution to the new problem tomorrow. Thanks to the documents John gave them, maybe they'd be able to figure out a way to defeat The Emperor. They still had an advantage on him, and this advantage was that they knew the location of something he was probably not even aware of. Something that could, in the craziest of cases, be the object of his demise. They had to make sure that the scepter was safe. Or else, the whole world could crumble and fall. The man looked at Rose, still a bit of sadness painted on her face, and he climbed into bed as well, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her a bit closer. He felt her breathing, that had picked up the pace a few minutes ago, slowly go back to normal, and her muscles relax. “ _ I guess she really does need this, huh..?” _ Ethan thought, closing his eyes and falling asleep.


	5. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The duo gets attacked by a creature of darkness, and make some discoveries about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard to write oh my goodness. There's some gore in here so if you're not fan of that uuuh skip

Ethan woke up to the sounds of birds happily chirping outside, and a very discomforting coldness replacing the warmth that was once wrapped in his arms. He opened his eyes, and saw that Rose wasn't in the bed anymore, and was now sitting outside, still in her pajamas, the wind in her hair, taking in the warm sunlight and slight fresh breeze in her now calm and collected face. The wizard stood up and walked to the glass door, opening it and sitting beside Rose. The girl's hair wasn't tied up in a ponytail like it usually was, giving the hazel locks the opportunity to flow gracefully in the wind. “Hey, sleep well?” Ethan asked softly, turning his head to look at Rose. She smiled softly, looking at the nearly empty parking lot in front of them. “Yeah. Really well…”. She turned around, looking directly at him, the sunlight beaming down on her face as she smiled brightly. Maybe it was because of how well rested she looked , or that the bags under her eyes had faded away a bit, or the faint blush on her usually pale cheeks that had appeared when she smiled, or the enchanting sparkle in her almost hypnotizing bright green eyes. He didn’t know what it was exactly, but in this light, it seemed like something was different about her. But not a bad kind of different. Something… good.   
“I'm glad.” Ethan said as he smiled back. He liked knowing that he was able to help her, even just a little bit. The man stood up, stretching and yawning. “Honestly, I think you had the right idea of sleeping like this, because I feel great!” He looked at her and smiled. “No nightmares either, so that's also a great thing!”. Rose giggled and stood up as well. “So, what's the plan, Mr. Griffonstone?” She said, opening the door and walking back inside. “I thought about it a bit before you woke up, and I think it'd be best to read all the documents Mr. John gave us.” Ethan nodded. “Yeah, that's what I thought we could do. We don't know if there's any way to defeat Briac if he has the ring, so maybe the documents have an answer…” he said, walking up to the small pillow where Luna was sleeping and gently stroking her head. “Hey Luna! Wake up!” The frog moved and opened her eyes, looking up at Ethan. “Wanna help us find information on the ring?” He smiled, tilting his head innocently. Luna sleepily bounced in Ethan's hand, croaking affirmatively, and the wizard stood up, walking to his bed and placing Luna on the mattress. “But first, we should get dressed and go eat! I think there's a restaurant nearby. We’ll go there.” Ethan then said, turning to face Rose. They both got dressed, and Ethan took Luna in his hands to put her on his shoulders, before they both walked out of their room, towards the car. They drove to a nearby diner. As they stepped inside, the smell of eggs and bacon filled their noses with their delicious aroma. Ethan looked around and motioned toward the nearest table, sitting on the somehow oddly comfortable chairs. A waitress walked to their table. Ethan saw that two little horns grew out of her dark brown hair, along with little pointy ears. A tail wagged around behind her, long and thin with a little fluffy poof at the end. She smiled softly and took out a notepad and a pen from her apron. “Welcome to the Three Piggies, my name is Bella and I will be your waitress for today.” The woman looked like she was probably a Faun, and the theory was answered when he saw her animal-like legs with two hooves instead of feet. “Before we start, do you want anything to drink?” Ethan shook his head. He wasn't very thirsty. Or hungry, for that matter. The only thing that was in his mind right now was getting back to the hostel and reading the documents. “No, just water will suffice.” Bella nodded as she handed them the menu, then walked away, her hooves clicking on the old wooden floor of the diner. Rose sighed and removed her robe and hat, placing them beside her. She looked to her left, where a window was fixed to the wall next to her, and placed her chin over her hands. “Maybe we could start talking about our plan right now?” Rose yawned and scratched her head. “Yeah, I guess we could, although we can't do much without the documents.” She said softly, still looking outside. Ethan removed his hat and robe as well, as he was starting to find the place a bit hot. “Why didn't we bring the documents with us then?” He asked, moving his head to the side to try and catch her gaze. She turned her head around and looked at him. “They're safer where I put them. There was a small safe in the room. I just placed them here, so don't worry about someone finding them.” Ethan nodded in approval. She was right, there was more risk of someone finding the documents if they had brought them along. Rose made a happy noise and turned her menu around so Ethan could see it. “Hey, I am so taking this! I'm hungry and this looks delicious!” she said happily. Ethan looked at his own menu and sighed. He wasn't really hungry. “I think I'll just take some fruits..” he said as he closed the menu. They placed both objects on the side of the table and waited. The sky was starting to get darkened by black clouds, and thunder was heard in the distance. “Oh, it's gonna rain…” Rose said, looking at the window once again. It seemed she liked doing that. The waitress came back with water and took the menus. “So, did you two choose what to eat?” Rose opened her mouth, but was cut off by a roaring in the distance. It wasn't the usual roar of the booming thunder that had been heard earlier. It was a terrifying beastial sound, something ominous, something that announced death. The sky near the restaurant got covered with tar black clouds, so dark and thick that not even the thunder and lightning could pass through it. The lights of the building flickered as all the customers started to panic, some of them getting up and walking towards the door, while others hid under the tables or stayed petrified by fear. A loud bang was heard on the door. One, then another, another… then the door exploded in a million tiny pieces, black smoke slipping in the place like wildfire. In the midst of the smoke was a silhouette. Covered by the smoke, Ethan wasn't able to make out his face, but he could easily guess who that was. A few creatures came out of the smoke, made out of the same substance as the dark clouds outside. They looked like giant tigers, and all seemed ready to pounce on anything that moved. The silhouette took a step closer, looking around. His gaze fell on Rose, and he smirked, before looking at Ethan. The dark wizard opened his mouth and from it got out a voice, deep like the sea and as terrifying as a rage-filled dragon, that made the whole building tremble with it's force. “Well well well… we've got a Firedancer AND a Griffonstone? This is going to be much more interesting than I thought…” Ethan shot a quick glance at Rose. She looked terrified, her wand in her hands yet not in a position to use it. The man took out his own wand and tried to fire at the Emperor, without any success. The spell passed right through the man's body, as if Ethan had fired at nothing. The wizard growled and stood up straight. “What more do you want with us??? I thought you already got what you wanted!” He said dryly and loudly, taking a step forward. The Emperor laughed, a hollow and cold laugh that sent shivers down Ethan's spine. “My dear boy, I'm definitely not finished with you…” his silhouette melted into the rest of the smoke, merging with it while his voice, still clear and audible, let out one last laugh before fading away. The smoke tigers growled and moved closer. Ethan put his wand in front of him, trying to find a spell to defeat those monsters. He shot another quick glance at Rose. She seemed just as terrified as before for a few seconds, then something clicked and she moved her head. A tiger jumped on Ethan and bit his shoulder with it's solid jaw, the man letting out a cry of pain as it did, before the creature was obliterated. A ray of light passed through the creature, and the smoke faded away. Ethan looked up and saw the other creatures disappear as well, and the dark clouds near the restaurant fly away. He tried standing up but winced in pain, the wound stinging horribly. He heard Rose run up to him and he looked at her. “Are you alright??” She asked nervously. “W-wait, what am I saying, of course you're not alright, you just got bit by… whatever this was…” she got out her wand again and pressed it against the aching wound. “D-don't move, this'll only take a moment”. She closed her eyes and concentrated, mumbling a spell, but other than a few sparks, nothing happened. A look of terror appeared on the girl's face when she realized her spell failed. “Oh no…”   
Ethan looked at her in confusion. “W-what's wrong?” He thought that the spell had failed like any other complicated spells. Maybe it wasn't something in her department, which would explain why it didn't work. “I-it’s alright, we can go see a doctor!” Rose stayed silent for a while, her eyes darting between her wand and the wound. “I-I guess… although this is so weird, I'm usually able to heal wounds, no matter how severe…” Ethan’s eyebrows furrowed. It was in her department after all. He looked at his wound. It looked like the immediate skin around it was rotting in a disgusting shade of purple, green and black, and the wound itself, while it wasn't hurting, gave off an uncomfortable tingling feeling, as if millions of bugs were crawling all over and inside of it. The waitress, who it seems heard the conversation, walked up to them and handed Rose a piece of paper. “I know someone who might be able to heal him. Here are his coordinates.” Rose took the paper. “He lives in the town near the mountains, it's only a few hours away.” She looked down sadly “We don't have any healers or doctors here, unfortunately.” Rose smiled and nodded. “Thank you.” She turned to Ethan and lifted him up on his feet. “Does it hurt?” she asked, placing money on the table and taking their robes from the chairs by levitating them.  
Ethan shook his head. “It feels weird, but it doesn't hurt.” A nervous chuckle came out of his mouth. “I don't know if that's a good sign though…” Rose sighed as they both walked out of the diner. “Let's hope it is…”

****

The more time passed and the paler Ethan looked. The car sometimes got out of line, curved and moved a bit too erratically for Rose's taste. “Alright!” She placed a hand on the wizard’s shoulder firmly after he did a rather terrifying turn on the road, forcing him to stop. “You're in no condition to drive!!” Ethan looked at her. He was sweating, his face so pale you'd think it was made out of plaster. “B-but… you can't drive.. what am I supposed to do??” Rose looked down and stayed silent for a second. Yes, what was she supposed to do? Read his mind and learn how to drive? Her eyes widened when she realized what she had just thought about. “Let me read your mind for a second.” Ethan’s head jerked up. “Don't worry, it won't hurt, I'm just going to transfer a few… memories to my brain. It's a bit complicated, I've only done this spell once before…” Ethan looked at her, a bit scared. “Are you… sure this is going to work?” He said weakly. Even his voice was starting to abandon him. Rose sighed, looking nervously at the wound on his shoulder that was only getting worse by the second. “No, but what other choice do we have right now?” She could see he was getting worse as well. Shortness of breath, cold sweat, his skin pale and in his eyes death and distress. “There's no other way, Ethan.” Ethan closed his eyes and turned around to face the girl. “Alright. You can do it.”   
She took out her wand and carefully placed it on Ethan’s forehead, closing her eyes and muttering a few words. At first, it seemed like nothing happened. Then he felt something, as if he were a water balloon and someone was pulling the water out of him like an ice cold thread on a ball of wool, slowly and carefully, to not break it. Then suddenly it snapped, and Rose lifted her wand from his forehead, moving it to hers. Ethan opened his eyes and felt instantly dizzy. He felt a bit odd as well. Rose opened her eyes a few minutes later, a faint yellow glow in her iris. “Alright. I'll need you to switch places with me.” She quickly got out of the car and helped him get up, walking him to the passenger seat behind her. “I think it'll be better, it's a bit less cramped behind…” she made him sit on the seat and closed the door, motioning to her own seat and starting the car. “Alright, it seems the transfer worked perfectly…” she looked amazed by her own success, looking at the whole car for a second, then shaking her head, reminding herself that her passenger was possibly dying, and started driving. It seemed that she was going a bit faster than he was, although since her health was still in perfect condition, the ride went more smoothly. Arriving at the village, she parked near a very small house, at the coordinates the waitress gave her. There were plants and vines growing all around the building, with a small pond in the front yard, where a few fishes calmly swam around. While there was no clearly written indication that this was a healer's hut, the scenery around it gave off the hint that it definitely was. Rose took Ethan in her arms after she tried getting him up and he fell to his knees, coughing violently, and walked up the old wooden stairs. She knocked on the door, and heard commotion inside. The door swiftly flew open, and a rather odd-looking creature appeared in front of them. If he had had a bag over his head, people could've sworn that he was human, but removing the bag it would've been easy to see that the rest was of a dog's face and head, to be more precise, a shiba’s head. He was dressed like a normal healer, with a long brown robe and large hat that fell on his face a bit, with an amulet on his neck, a red ruby encrusted in the middle of it. He had a staff in his free hand, the other one being busy opening the door. His eyebrows lifted with horror when he saw Rose and Ethan, with the huge wound on his shoulder, and quickly motioned for them to enter his domain. “Oh boy, come in, we'll have to treat him immediately.” He said in a rather normal human voice. Rose looked at him for a second. “Are… are you a cynocephaly?” The man nodded as he placed Ethan on a table and walked to a small cabinet, taking a few potions and herbs. “People always ask me if I'm cursed.” He laughed. “I'm not, if you were wondering. I was born like this, but I don't mind it that much...” he mixed a few potions in a bowl and stirred gently, the liquid slowly turning green “It makes me look more mysterious… and keeps the bad ones away.” He walked up to Ethan and lifted his head up. “Alright, I'm gonna need you to drink all of this first, can you do that?” Ethan nodded weakly and drank the potion, wincing a bit. “Yeah, it's bad, but it removes most of the pain. If you don't take it the rest will be much worse.” After the wizard was done, the dog-man took the bowl back and placed it on a counter. In the same bowl, he placed herbs and plants, crunching them up together. “You a healer?” He turned to Rose. She nodded, replacing her hat on her head. “Y-yeah… m-magical security..”. The man made a half smile and walked back to the cabinet. “I felt traces of magic on that wound, and I'm talking about the good magic, not that disgusting dark shit…” he shivered. Rose looked surprised. “W-why didn't it work when I tried healing him? I'm usually able to heal all my patients and co-workers…” The Shiba chuckled and took out a weird fruit out of the cabinet, cutting it in half and emptying the gooey yellow insides in the bowl with a spoon. “That's normal. This isn't one of your ordinary magical wounds. This was made by a dark wizard. The flesh that was… bitten, as I can see, is starting to die, because of the spell put onto whatever creature attacked him.” He turned around. “What did you say your name was again?”   
“R-Rose Firedancer…”   
He scratched his chin. “Firedancer… I knew someone named like that, I think. That name does ring a bell... wasn't your mother a healer as well? She served in the war, right?” Rose nodded, playing nervously with her scarf. He barked happily and walked towards Ethan again, a spoon in one hand and the bowl in the other. “Eat this.” Ethan took the bowl and the spoon and started eating. The mixture tasted sweeter than the last one, that was bitter and a bit sour too. Little by little his breathing went back to normal. “You'll have to wait here for a few minutes to let the mixture take its effect.” The Shiba said, before turning to Rose. “I haven't seen your parents in a while, how are they?” Rose looked down and tapped her foot on the floor. “T-they’re doing well…” the healer panted happily “Well you tell them that, if they remember me, Austin told them hello!”   
Rose nodded and sat down on a chair near the table where Ethan was. He was now laying on his side, looking at the ground sadly. “Is he going to be healed completely?” Rose asked Austin. The creature turned around. “No, I don't know any cure to whatever is happening to him. What I did was slow down his symptoms as much as I could…” he walked to Ethan and looked at the wound. “I've seen this before, although by the time the patients arrived, they were already dead, or had gone mad. And, well…” the Shiba leaned closer. “This wound isn't exactly like the others I've seen. I'm sensing… something else…” he suddenly stood up, an idea emerging in his head. “I think I found something. I'll be right back.” he pointed to Ethan. “Don't you dare try to move. I don't want to clean up your vomit.” Austin walked to his room, his footsteps getting quieter. As soon as the door closed, Rose looked at Ethan.  
“Are you alright?”  
Ethan chuckled weakly. “I'd be lying if I said I was… but I do feel a bit better…” he moved around a bit, but Rose placed a hand on his chest. “No, stop, you're not allowed to move.” Ethan sighed and stopped.   
“Your parents served in the war as well?” He asked.   
Rose nodded. “It was mandatory where I lived, it's not like they had a choice..”   
“Oh… Did you get your healing powers from your mom?”  
“Yeah. She was a nurse during the war, although she turned to teaching when it was over.”  
Ethan looked at Rose. She seemed sad, really sad. He wished he could get a bit closer, or at least if she was able to open up to him more…  
Austin came back with a book, slamming it on a small table next to Ethan's. He quickly flipped through the pages and stopped in the middle of the book. “You've actually been cursed… like I thought…” he looked up. “Do you know who did it?”   
Ethan nodded.   
“Then this'll be easier. You have to kill the person who cursed you, either that or fulfill whatever condition came with the curse.” He turned the page. “A bit like in all those stories, like the princess and the frog, Rapunzel, Snow White…” he looked up at Ethan and smirked. “You know, here's a fun fact, those stories are actually true, at least most of it. Although the names have been changed and the stories romanticized, at their core, they are all true. All those people were indeed cursed by evil wizards, and had to fulfill the conditions that were given to them… or else they would die.” He closed the book swiftly, making the paper pages slam against each other in a loud boom. “Did the wizard tell you the conditions?” Ethan shook his head, and Austin scratched his chin. “Well, in some stories you have to find out for yourself…” he looked up and shrugged “I guess it's the case with you, huh?”. He looked at the clock on the wall near the cabinet. “Oh, it seems that it's time for you to get up and try moving, Mr…” he tilted his head. “I never asked your name.” Ethan sat up slowly on the table, and lifted his hand up. “M-my name’s Ethan Griffonstone…” Austin gasped softly, looking at both Rose and Ethan, then shook the man's hand. He then turned around and started walking in circles around the room, mumbling random thoughts to himself. His head suddenly jerked up and he barked. “ YOU'RE HERE FOR THE RING!?!” Ethan and Rose both took a few steps back in surprise, Rose bumping into the table and clutching the side with her hands. “H-how did you…” Austin passed a hand on the fur on his head and laughed. “Oh my God, you could've said so from the start, I would've helped you!” he looked back at Ethan and cleared his throat. “How do you feel, I have to ask that first. Can you try walking?” Ethan nodded and carefully stood up, supporting himself with a hand on the table. He took one step, then another, and another. Austin smiled and nodded. “Good job!”   
Ethan sat down again and turned to the healer. “How do you know about the ring?” The words he had read the day before, DO NOT TRUST HIM, appeared in his mind, and he moved a bit further away from the Healer.  
Austin looked down sadly, taking off his hat and sighing. “It's a very long story…” he sat down on the chair next to him and looked up. “If you have the time I could tell it to you.”  
Both wizards looked at each other and nodded. “Yeah, we have time… I think it's better to wait in case Ethan gets worse…” Rose said, sitting on the table beside the wizard.   
Austin took out his staff and waved it around, a ball of light appearing in the middle of the room, clouded at first but images slowly appearing, and faint voices being heard along with it. “I think it's better if I show you what happened…” Austin said, concentrating on his spell. 

****

Bombs were flying, shooting was heard booming in the distance, magic and weapons clashed against each other in loud bangs and clangs. Dragons, griffons, planes and helicopters falling from the sky and crashing on the ground, exploding and sending fire all over the place, raining down on the poor soldiers and wizards, preys to the ruthless massacre that the scorching flames brought upon them.  
In a medical tent was a young cynocephaly. He had just passed the right age to serve in the war, his great medical skills being extremely needed on the battlefield. All around him were wounded soldiers, crying, grunting, groaning and whimpering helplessly in pain because of broken bones or magical wounds and curses on their bodies. No matter the race or gender, whether male, female, in between, human, wizard, elf, goblin… they all had to serve. Another wounded arrived in a gurney, a male wizard, crying out in agony as he clutched his left side with a trembling hand, tears falling down his dirty and bloody face, leaving trails of dust on his cheeks. The boy was called out to help him, and he quickly ran up to the new person.   
“I'm sorry, but I'll need to see the wound if I want to fix it…” he said, his voice broken with fear and anxiety as he gently moved the man's hand away from his wound. Blood gushed up a badly bandaged hole on his left side, and the man removed the dirty bandages. The skin looked like it had been bitten off, small chunks of mangled flesh falling as soon as the bandages were removed as if the skin was rotten. And it did look like it was. The wound itself was tinted in a disgusting shade of greyish-black, some sort of pus oozing out of it in patterns, glowing faintly with a purple tint. The soldier looked at the healer, his eyes wide, reddened by his cries of despair and the particles and wind that constantly flew in them, his face twisted by the intense fear of a man who didn't want to die. “H-help… me…” the man said, his voice barely perceptible. The cynocephaly felt the man's hand grab his arm shakily, and he lifted his head up a bit. “Please…” his voice broke and tears swell up on the corner of his eyes. “I don't want to die…”   
But the boy didn't know what to do to treat his wound. He had never seen something like this. He didn't want this man to die. But he couldn't do anything to save him.  
The healer softly said a spell to try and remove most of the soldier's pain, that at least he could do. “Do you have any family?” He asked the man as he started to calm down a bit. He nodded slightly.  
“Kids? Partner? Parents? Siblings?”   
“T-two siblings… t-they're too young to fight in the war, but the oldest… he's… seventeen…” the man coughed and smiled softly, reminiscing about a different,better time. “He wanted to join me so badly… told me he was strong enough…”  
“And what did you tell him?”  
“I… I told him he…” he coughed again, a bit of blood and pus flying out of his mouth and splattering all over his beard and chest. “He should try and find something else to do… be… c-cause... the war would… already… be over... when…” the bleeding was getting worse, and the soldier's head fell back on his pillow. His eyes closed and he stopped talking or moving. The healer waved his wand around in panic and saw that the man didn't have a pulse anymore.   
Tears rolled down the boy's cheeks. He thought that maybe this man was going to be alright. But like in any wars, not everyone came back alive. He turned around when he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. A woman sat beside him, replacing her glasses and handing him a mask. “Here, it's not very sanitary. Imagine if you got that pus on your face.” She then sighed, looking at the lifeless body of the soldier. “I'm sorry… I know you wanted to save him…” the cynocephaly put the mask on his muzzle and looked down sadly. “It's alright Ms. Griffonstone… things like this just... happen sometimes…” he said, although he really did wish it didn't have to be this way. Another patient entered the small tent, and both wizards turned around. On the new gurney was a woman. She had multiple bullet wounds on her body, and was currently knocked out. She didn't have the uniform of a soldier, but of a nurse. Ms. Griffonstone gasped and ran to the gurney as it was transported to a closed room. She cried out the woman's name, although the young cynocephaly didn't quite hear what she had said. He followed his co-worker into the room, and found her on her knees, searching for something in her bag. “W-what are you doing?” She turned around and looked at the boy. “I trust you to keep a secret, so here, you can see what I'm about to do…” she took out a small ring. It looked pretty simple, small silver and bronze twirls all around the golden ring, making infinitely minuscule flower-shaped patterns on the otherwise plain looking jewelry. The nurse placed the ring on her finger and winced a bit in pain, standing up and leaning close to the dying nurse's gurney. She didn't even need to say anything, simply placed her hand on her friend's forehead and closed her eyes. An aura wrapped itself around both women and filled the room with a bright orange glow. The wounded nurse whimpered softly, and clutched her chest with her hand, as all the bullets fell out of the bleeding holes on her entire body, falling to the dirty ground in imperceptible pings, before the wounds themselves started to heal and close, the only thing left to remind the nurse of her death being the now dried up blood surrounding the holes in her already dirty uniform. The boy's eyes widened, and he took a step forward, curiosity taking over feat as he wondered how his colleague was able to heal such a severe wound. “W-what happened??” He looked once more at the nurse on the gurney. “How did you do that????” He was trying to understand but he simply couldn't. He knew Ms. Griffonstone wasn't nearly powerful enough to heal something like that, and neither was anyone in the wizarding world. The doctor removed the ring and placed it back in her bag, waving her wand around to seal it shut. She turned around to look at the boy and then looked down. “It wasn't me, it was the ring…”  
The cynocephaly frowned. “Th-that ring?” He took one more step closer. “H-how??”  
“The ring can make you powerful when you wear it. I don't want to use it too much be-”  
“No!!!” He cut her as she was talking, staring at her, suddenly feeling all the repressed sadness and stress coming out in tsunamis. “There's no sound reason as to why you never used it before!! Is it because she's your friend? Because you don't really care about the others??” he couldn't believe that she had let all those soldiers die, but saved this one nurse. “I've seen so many soldiers die in front of me because nobody was able to heal them, because the curses and wounds they were inflicted were too severe for us to heal!!”   
The doctor stood up straight and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him in another empty room. “You don't know what you're talking about, young man.”  
“Oh? How so?”  
She looked furious, and her glasses slid off her nose a bit. “I've seen what this ring can do to people who do not deserve it's power. This is why the war has been going on for so long! You shouldn't try and meddle with something you don't understand!”  
The boy moved away from her grasp and growled. “Then give it to me! Let me do research and study it! Maybe we could find out what exactly it does and help medical science grow further!”  
“No.”  
The cynocephaly gasped softly. “No??”  
Ms. Griffonstone shook her head. “This ring makes the unworthy mad or end up dead. You don't want to even try and touch it.”  
He growled again, and took a step closer. “Oh really?”  
“Really.”  
And with that, she walked out of the room, her bag, pressed on her side carefully. 

Later that night, the young boy was about to ask a few people in the staff to help him take the ring, that was in another smaller tent where Ms. Griffonstone slept. One hour passed, then another, and he didn't see any sign of someone coming back. He carefully walked into the room where the bag was supposed to be, and gasped in horror. All five men, dead or unconscious on the floor. The last that had gone into the room still had the ring in his hand. He walked to him and turned his body around, whimpering in terror, seeing the man's face filled with scratches and bites, as if he had fought the other men to take the ring. And the boy was probably right, he thought, when he looked at the other men and saw that two of them seemed full of blood, their hands bloody and dirty. Steps were heard behind him and he felt someone pull him up and turn him around. Ms. Griffonstone slapped him and he stumbled to keep his balance. “WHAT DID I TELL YOU???” She pointed to the men on the floor. “LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!!!”   
The cynocephaly trembled and covered his face with shaky hands. “I-I'm sorry…”   
“When I said it could kill people, I was serious, Austin!!!”   
“I'm so, so sorry…”  
“What am I even supposed to tell the others???”  
“...”  
She looked around furiously and took out her wand. “We'll… I'll figure something out…” she teleported the bodies one by one, and then turned to the boy. “Look at me, I need you to promise something.”  
Austin looked up at her and whimpered.   
“Promise me that you'll keep this a secret. That you'll never try to take the ring again. That you'll never talk about any of what happened today to anybody!”  
Austin nodded.   
“Good. Now go back to your tent… I'm still not finished fixing your mistake.”  
She took the ring that had fell from the man's hand and teleported away, leaving the cynocephaly alone. 

****

The images faded and Austin opened his eyes slowly, making the magic bubble disappear. He looked down sadly, replacing his hat back on his head, and waiting for the two wizards to react.  
Rose was the first to say something. Her eyes were full of tears as she took a step forward, staring deeply into the distance. “ T-that was my mother, o-on the gurney… I didn't know she almost…” her voice broke and faded away, and the girl moved her hands to her mouth in horror. Austin nodded weakly, staying silent. Ethan looked at the healer. He seemed deeply troubled by what he had just showed them. “My mother… knew you as well…” the wizard looked up at Austin. “That was your mother, huh?”  
Ethan nodded, still in shock.   
“It was a short war, but the horrors I've seen… the horrors we've all seen…” Austin looked up at both wizards. “They probably didn't want to tell any of you about that, heh?” He chuckled sadly.   
Ethan cleared his throat, less shocked and more curious. “Why do you want to help us?” He said to Austin.   
“I feel so guilty about what I did back then… I killed people just to get that ring… while indirectly, but it still bothers me so much… and now… I want to help in any way I can!” He answered, a glimmer of determination in his eyes. “I want to amend for my mistakes, and make your mother proud of me again!”  
Ethan looked down. “Well… about the ring…” he fiddled with his fingers. “It was stolen… by a dark wizard… the one who cursed me, actually…”   
Austin's eyes widened in terror. “So he really is back…”   
Both wizards frowned. How did he know about any of this?  
Austin grabbed Ethan's valid shoulder and looked at him. “The black clouds in the sky that appeared a few hours ago… th-this evil aura that surrounded them. M-my friend Bella told me a very frightening wizard gave them a little visit two days ago…” he looked at Ethan's wound. “And now this wound, and the ring missing… there's no doubt that a dark wizard is up to something…” he looked back at his book. “I'm usually not one to believe legends but… this books has a section with the most popular one…” his ears flopped down in fear. “One of them is about this dark wizard named Briac. He was so hungry for power that he started his quest for magical artifacts, killing many in the process, but the artifacts all ended up backfiring on him. Then he mysteriously disappeared, although it had been said that he would come back, and bring destruction with him.”   
The Shiba took a few steps back and sat on the chair near his desk. “My theory was that he's after the ring… it possesses so many powers, i’m certain that's what he wants.”  
Ethan frowned, a bit suspicious. This guy sounded like he knew a lot about the Emperor. Maybe a bit too much. “How do we know you're telling the truth..?”  
Austin shrugged. “You can't… and honestly, I don't know how much help I could even provide. But… if you do choose to trust me, I can try and help in any way I can.” he looked up at both of them, tilting his head.  
Rose took a step forward and got her wand up. “You do seem to know a lot about the Emperor. You've fought in the war, and you look like you could hold your own, seeing how knowledgeable you are in the healing field…” the tip of her star poked on Austin's neck and he tried moving away, one of his hands shuffling around to try and find support. Rose stared at the cynocephaly, seeming slightly irritated. “So why don't you try and find the ring? Are you scared?” A soft whimper of fear came out of the creature's mouth. “M-maybe…”  
She kept her eyes locked with his, her gaze menacing and intimidating despite her small size, and pulled out her identity card. Austin's eyes got a bit more wide. “A security officer…” he looked down at the wand then back up at the card. “E-explains the wand I guess…” he said to himself quietly.  
“If you aren't telling the truth, it would mean I could easily arrest you for lying to the authorities and possibly associating with a murderer.” the star of her wand hummed quietly and lit up softly, magic gathering in it.  
A drop of sweat fell from the man's face and fell on the floor without making a sound. The staring went on for a few more seconds, then Rose let go of him and turned around, smiling innocently to Ethan. “Yeah, he's telling the truth.”   
Ethan sighed and smiled back. “Wow, nice job, you were pretty convincing, thought you were actually gonna…”  
She chuckled. “Of course not, I don't wanna lose my job. Killing is forbidden unless the officer is in mortal danger, which isn't the case right now.”   
Austin rubbed his neck nervously and cleared his throat. “S-so, I guess I can tell you everything I know, I guess that would help…” Rose nodded.   
“The ring amplifies a wizard’s already existing power, so if the wizard using it is extremely powerful already, their power would be doubled, maybe even tripled. A simple healing spell could heal faster, better, heal more things. A fire blast could burn faster, go further and do more damage.” He turned to Ethan. “This is why your mother was able to heal her friend. Because the wand amplified her healing capabilities.” Austin looked down. “Although don't go thinking this thing is perfect. It's far from it. The reason why your mother didn't want anyone using it was because this ring has the nefarious ability to kill anybody who isn't… worthy of it, I guess you could call it that.” Ethan leaned a bit forward. “Who are the ones worthy?” The sons of the ring? It was very probable.  
“The ones like your mother, father and yourself. The ones who were born to carry and protect it.” He turned to Rose. “Like you, Ms. Firedancer.”   
Rose lifted an eyebrow and chuckled. “M-me?”  
He looked to the side. “I knew this name reminded me of something. But, after thinking about it a bit more, I realized that it wasn't from back in the war. It was from something more recent than that…” the Shiba waved his wand around and an image appeared in the air. A newspaper clipping. It had the photo of a little girl on it, probably six or seven years old, smiling brightly at the camera. Austin looked down and whimpered. “I'm sorry, I didn't recognize that name right away. I am extremely sorry for…” his voice died in his throat.  
Ethan looked at the title. “WIZARD FAMILY ATTACKED BY A DARK MAGE,YOUNGER ONE STILL MISSING.”  
The article, from what Ethan was able to decipher, was talking about how a neighbor heard strange noises coming from the house, and saw that the window was broken. When he went to see, he saw three bodies on the floor. The police recognized the magic as one of their suspect's magic and, not being able to find the body of the youngest girl, declared her missing. The image faded and Austin took his wand down. “Your mother was a great person, and she was killed because she was one of the people who protected the ring.”   
He shrugged “Although I'm sure you already knew that, I just.. uh…” he stopped for a second as he realized he might've triggered something. Rose was staring out in the distance in terror, not moving or saying anything. “L-look, I don't think I need to say anything else.. s-so uhm..” he took the huge book that was still laying on the counter, and teleported it away. “I'm giving you the book. I have another one like this, I don't need that one. And uhm. Good luck in your journey, I support you both one hundred percent. And again, I'm very sorry for everything.”  
Ethan took out his wand and gently took Rose's hand, then teleported away in the car. He took his robe and gave it to her, and she buried her face in it, still not saying a word. He wasn't going to pressure her, it would be bad, it wasn't a good thing to do. She seemed so distraught. He really did wish he could do something for her.   
He started driving, and sighed, hoping that they'd arrive to their destination soon.


	6. The Calm and the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After some shocking revelations from Rose, the duo decides to take a day off in the nearby town to try and wash away all the emotions. But the fun can only last for so long... They're quickly sucked back into the action as soon as the day is over, making them realized that maybe they really made right choice to relax because what happens next will change everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LONGEST CHAPTER I EVER WROTE, (then followed by a really short chapter lmao)

Rose moved in her seat, and Ethan looked at her for a second. Was she alright? What if he didn't do what he needed to do, and only made her condition worse? And if he did, how stupid was that, to not know how to comfort her. A noise came out of her, and her body started shaking. He immediately parked on the side or the road, and teleported out of the car, then placing her in his arms and teleporting in the back of the car, a much more comfortable place to be in. He placed her beside him, as close as they could be, and Luna, who had been asleep this whole time, hopped next to Ethan with a quizzical look. She croaked sadly and hopped on his lap. “R-Rose..?” Ethan asked softly. She either didn't hear him, or didn't want to answer. “Rose, hey?” He brought up a hand to her shoulder. She stopped shaking, and peeked out from the robe she was holding against her face. “You lost your parents too… yet… you don't seem to be… a-affected by it…” she gasped and sniffled, trying to stop her cries to be able to articulate the phrases she was saying. “D-do you even… ever feel sad… about it?”

Ethan looked down, and gently stroked Luna's back. “All the time…” he felt his chest tighten and he looked away from Rose, holding back tears that were inevitably coming. “I just… I can't…” He never really had the occasion to think, and cry. He was always busy one way or another, and had to keep up that façade of a man who was always happy, unbothered by the bad things that had happened in his life. Rose placed her hand on his. He felt tears start to form on the border of his eyes. “I'm so sorry…” he said weakly, bringing up his free hand to his face, his head hanging down as the tears fell down his face, warm and wet, leaving traces on his cheeks and falling on the car seat and floor. Rose got a bit closer and hugged Ethan's arm, and he felt her tears wet the fabric of his shirt, and her grip tighten around his arm. He turned his head and rested his chin against her head. Each time the tears fell and the regrets and sadness faded a bit, he could feel his chest get a bit less tight, and he heard Rose's sobs get softer and softer with each gasp. Five minutes, maybe even ten passed, and Ethan finally stopped crying. He opened his eyes and sighed, moving away from Rose and looking down at her. She had stopped crying as well, and was now simply hanging onto his arm, staring into the distance with a melancholic look in her beautiful green eyes. Ethan blushed softly when he thought that, then moved his head a bit closer. “M-maybe… talking about it would help..?” 

Rose looked up at him, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She smiled weakly, and looked down. “Heh… why not… it's not like there's much I can do to deny it…” she said, replacing herself on the seat of the car, the black leather squeaking with her movements. 

She took out her wand, and lifted it up in the air. “I think… we'll just go into my memories…” she waved it in circles, the star at the tip glowing, and an orb appearing in front of both wizards. Rose scooted a bit closer to Ethan and sniffled. “It was supposed to be a normal day…” she started, and Ethan looked into the orb as shapes and voices started appearing, just like they did with Austin. 

  
  


****

 

_ A young Rose was running around in her living room, another girl, her sister, following her, both of them waving their toy wands around and shooting fake spells at each other, giggling happily. _

_ The sun was about to set, and the clouds had taken a beautiful shade of orange, contrasting with the sky that was still blue. In the air floated a delicious aroma of the dinner that was being prepared; spaghetti, the girl's favorite food. Both girls stopped playing as they heard their father call for them from the kitchen, and the older one happily ran to the other room. Rose heard a noise outside, mixed with the sleepy chirps of the birds and sounds of the cars outside. That noise sounded like a bush rustling, although, as Rose walked towards the window, it seemed like there was nothing at all. The young girl shrugged it off as just a squirrel, and turned around to go into the dining room. Their father sat at the table, levitating the plates to their designated places, then he looked up and frowned. “Hey, is mom coming downstairs soon?” He asked, standing up and preparing himself to go see. The older sister stopped him in his tracks and smiled. “I'll go see!”  _

_ The father smiled and went back to his chair. “Alright, tell her dinner's ready.” _

_ The girl nodded and walked upstairs. _

_ Rose heard a noise behind her again, but this time, it was more like a whisper.   _ “Roooosiiiie…” 

_ The girl turned around and didn't see anything. Then the father jumped in his chair, looking around frantically. His gaze went to the door, and he walked to it, looking outside. He quickly whispered a lock spell, and turned back to look at Rose. “Did you hear someone Rose?” _

_ Rose nodded. “Yes, I heard a man, he said my name.” _

_ The man’s eyes widened in terror, and he suddenly looked up at the stairs. A scream was heard, and he ran upstairs. Rose quickly followed him. “W-what's going on daddy??” She asked, fear slowly setting in. The man ran to his bedroom, and fell to his knees. Rose's sister ran to him, clutching the fabric of his shirt, warm tears rolling down her small cheeks. “I found… I didn't… m-mommyy….” She bursted into tears, screams of terror mixing with her cries. The man looked back at Rose, who had taken a few steps closer. The girl covered her mouth in horror, seeing her mother on the floor, a strange purple liquid under her. Rose's father took her hand and her sister's, and pulled them back downstairs. He shot a quick look to the window of the front, and ran to the backdoor. He opened the door, and pushed the two girls outside, locking the door behind the three of them. He took Rose in his arms and started running towards a giant forest that was behind their backyard. They ran and ran, and for a while, Rose had her eyes closed. She heard roaring behind them, getting closer and closer. She opened her eyes and looked. She saw nothing. Darkness. The forest behind them was gone, hidden by dark smoke. She saw eyes pierce through the darkness. Yellow. Squinty. Terrifying.  _

_ Her father tripped and fell on the ground, and Rose yelped as she fell over him. The man coughed and looked behind him. The darkness was only getting closer. So he turned back and helped Rose get up. “Go with your sister, run as far as you can, and go see your aunty Sissie, she'll be able to help you.” _

_ Rose started crying again. “B-but what about y-you???” _

_ “Don't worry about me honey, I'll be fine. Just…” his voice broke, and the man cleared his throat. “Run. Run away.” Seeing as she wasn't moving, he looked up at her big sister and yelled out. “NOW!!!!”  _

_ The older one grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her away, forcing her to run. She didn't even look behind her anymore. She couldn't hear anything other than her footsteps, making the leaves and grass under her crackle, and her heavy and panicked breathing, everything else was a blurred and faded mess of sounds all around her, as if someone had plugged her ears or as if she was underwater. _

_ An object flew near her face, and Rose screamed. The object landed on a tree, and Rose realized that it was a knife. Big, sharp and black like everything else that was pursuing them. Then another one, and another one, all flying around her and her sister, some of them cutting through their clothes or their skin. Then suddenly, something felt off, and Rose turned around, feeling like something was tugging on her arm and slowing her down. _

_ She screamed in horror when she saw that her sister was on the ground, a few knives stuck all over her back, not moving. She wanted to stop, to try and see if she was still alive, but in her heart she knew it was too late. And she had to keep on running. She  _ had _ to.  _

_ Her vision now blurred by her tears, the small girl turned around and kept on running, her mind now blank. She didn't even know why she was running, she just did. She ran and ran and ran, until she arrived at a cliff. The girl stopped and fell to her knees, her tears not showing any signs of stopping, and she took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the sea, it's waves furiously crashing on the rocks of the cliff.  _

_ She screamed, but the wind and rain covered her screams. _

_ She screamed until she didn't have a voice anymore. She cried until she couldn't cry anymore. She stayed up until she couldn't anymore. Then she fell asleep. _

  
  


****

 

The images blurred in the ball of light, and it exploded, the magic dissipating quickly as it spread all over the car.

They both stayed silent, Rose waiting for Ethan to take all of what she had just showed him in. 

She felt his hand grab hers gently, and tears fall down her cheeks once again. Ethan sniffled, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I-I'm so sorry… it must've been pretty hard… y-you're very brave to have been able to overcome all of this…” he turned to her and smiled softly, kissing the back of her hand. She blushed softly and smiled back. “W-well, I wasn't completely alone… When I woke up, I was in my Aunt's house. I ended up living with her and her family, so I had some huge help in c-coping with… all that…”

Ethan nodded and leaned back in his seat. “Did He come there because… of the ring?”

Rose nodded. “My mother was part of that big group, although I never knew what her actual role was, with everything that I've gathered, she must've been someone who could keep the secret and support your mother, or anybody who had the ring. I read in books that whoever supports  the Ring bearer is able to touch the Ring itself, so maybe that's why it was suspected my mother had it...”

“The newspaper clipping… it said that the three bodies were found in the same place, yet you said they all…”

“Yeah, I know” Rose said. “The police report said that the three bodies had all been dragged into the dining room, like some sort of really sadistic ritual…”

The image of three lifeless and bloody corpses sitting at the table flashed in Ethan's mind and he shivered in disgust. 

“Do you think it was The Emperor?”

Rose nodded. “There's no doubt.”

 

****

 

She stayed silent for a while. Then, she turned around and sighed, her professional serious look starting to overcome her helpless sad expression she had a few moments ago  “Look, I'm certain that The Emperor isn't worthy. He might not die from the ring, knowing how powerful he is, but he's definitely not gonna be able to use it… so that leaves us some time to think about a plan…” she looked up at the sky and smiled. “...and maybe even relax.”

She turned back to face him and gave him a slightly mischievous smirk. “What do you say? Wanna go explore this town?” Ethan’s eyes widened and he scratched the back of his head. “W-well… I haven't had a break in years…” 

Rose gasped and grabbed Ethan's hand. “IN YEARS???”

Ethan shook his head. 

“N-not even for Christmas..?”

Ethan lifted an eyebrow. “Christmas?”

Rose stared at him blankly for a second. “Y-y’know, like… that holiday where you give presents and make a tree and stuff-” 

She stopped and her eyes brightened. “Oh yeaaahh, your parents are both wizards, you probably don't celebrate that, right? Or, I think they call it something else…”

Ethan nodded. “Oh, yeah, I get what you're talking about. Yeah, I lived in a mostly wizard-populated town so Christmas wasn't mentioned very often.”

Rose's smile grew brighter. “Then you missed a LOT!!” She looked around. “A-anyways, how about we go back and take our things somewhere safe, then visit the nearest town?” She said as took out her wand.

Back in the hotel, a few coins appeared on the counter and the two wizard’s luggages and papers teleported away, back in the car's trunk. 

Rose looked back at Ethan and smiled. “It's almost Christmas anyway, maybe the next town will be decorated, who knows?” She teleported in the front passenger seat and Ethan did the same in the driver's seat. She grabbed the document that John had given them and started reading. “Here, I'll start reading, and you can look for somewhere to visit on the map.”

Ethan looked around. “W-what map?”

Rose waved her wand around and a holographic map appeared in front of the wizard. The girl pointed to a red spot on the road. “That's us.” 

She pointed to a few yellow stars all around. “Those are the nearest towns, I'd suggest we go near the mountains, because I have a feeling that's where Briac was headed, also I heard the villages there look lovely, with all the snow around.” She smiled softly, her eyes shimmering with happiness, and Ethan could’ve sworn he saw small pink flowers and sparkles float all around her. 

Rose looked down at the documents and started reading, staying quiet, and Ethan started driving. They drove through the town they had just been in, and Ethan looked around, saddened by how grey and desolate that town was, wishing he could do something to help, although, the more they drove near the mountain, the prettier the scenery looked. Orange and yellow leaves fell off the branches and were replaced by twigs, maple, oaks and birches became pines and firs, and untouched snow started covering the road and the trees with its white, fluffy and cold flakes, making the landscape look magical and beautiful. 

A small town appeared in the distance, and Ethan heard music and noise growing louder as they approached. There were lights floating around the houses and banners, red, white and green, hanging onto the buildings and flapping in the gentle breeze. Rose looked up and smiled, taking the documents and placing them back in their pouch. Ethan shot a quick look at the girl. “Where are you gonna place them? Have you found a way to keep them safe?” 

Rose nodded and grabbed her hat, placing it on her lap, then poked the documents with her wand and a small plastic-like substance wrapped itself all around the papers, then hardened, the shiny transparent wrap becoming hard like rock and a grey and dull color. She then gently placed the documents in her hat and shook it a bit. 

Ethan squinted, visibly confused, and Rose giggled. “O-oh, I just put a shell over it so the pages don't get all lost, and I placed it in my hat!” She smiled proudly as she placed the book Austin gave them in the hat, then placed it back on her head. “H-how many things do you hide in that thing…” he looked at the piece of clothing. 

“Oh, tons of stuff. One time I placed a mouse in it but it got lost and I never saw it again. I wonder how she's doing…” the girl said as she scratched her nose. 

Sometimes Ethan forgot some wizards liked to put a bottomless spell on their hats to hide things in that. He had always wondered how the things in there never fell, or how the wizards didn't accidentally fall into the hats. He figured that was just how the spell worked. 

Ethan stopped near a gift shop and parked the car. 

“Well, this town looks nice. Maybe while we explore you can say what you read in those documents?” The wizard said as he got his hat and robe. Rose nodded and got out the car. 

“C’mon Luna, we're going outside.” the blonde said, looking at the sleepy frog and moving his hand near her. Luna hopped in his palm and Ethan placed her in his inside pocket. He then closed his robe and stepped outside the car, the cold air of winter hitting his face. 

All around him were tourists and townspeople, walking in the streets and talking, eating, dancing and having fun. Rose looked at herself and then at Ethan, and tilted her head. “Our robes aren't very winter-like…” she looked down and concentrated, trying to find a spell she could use to help them. “Oh, here, come here!” She moved her hand in his direction and Ethan walked closer. “Where's Luna?” 

Ethan pointed to his robe and Rose scratched her head. “She can go in my hat for now, I made a small cozy house for pets when I was younger, in case I ever had any, although I never got the chance so the house just kinda… stayed there…” Rose said, removing her hat and letting the frog hop inside happily. Ethan looked inside of the hat and only heard a happy croak coming from Luna, who had probably found the house. 

Rose placed the hat back on her head and took out her wand. “So I'm thinking I could temporarily transform our clothes into winter clothes.” She smiled and winked. “Of course, there's a deadline, but it's not midnight…” she tapped her wand on her forehead and looked to the side. “Let's say… 2:30AM.” 

Ethan nodded. “That sounds good.”

Rose smiled and a soft blush appeared on her freckled cheeks. “Oh man, I have the perfect outfit idea for you!!”

She waved her wand around and sparkles surrounded the wizard. Ethan closed his eyes instinctively, then opened them again to look at himself.

While he still had a robe and hat, they were a bit different than usual. The pointy hat was navy blue, with a pompom on top, and fluff all over the borders. His robe harbored a similar style, now with stylish pockets on the outside, with fluff all around the sleeve’s borders, and all around the high collar. Ethan touched his neck and saw that he had a scarf wrapped around it, crimson red, contrasting well with the outfit. He looked down and saw his shoes were now big black winter boots. Moving his feet around he felt that the material was soft and pillowy, and he guessed that it must've been wool or cotton. 

He closed his robe and looked up at Rose with big eyes. “Wow, that's pretty cool!” He looked at himself a bit more, still amazed by the spell. 

Rose giggled and waved her wand around again, this time sparkles surrounding her. Ethan saw her outfit stretch and bounce, and transforming into a similar type of robe, hat and boots that he had.

The once white and blue robe closed, buttons appearing on the sides, the stars fading and letting burgundy red take over the fabric, with two black stripes appearing on the robe, a bright yellow star in between the stripes, and another one on the hat, whose border had gotten fluffy, just like the girl's sleeves and collar. Her shoes became boots, rising up to her knees, shining and reflecting the bright white of the snow. The only thing that didn't change was Rose's scarf, that stayed exactly the same. Rose looked at her hands, and Ethan saw that she had two black mittens, with fluff on the borders, with a black muff on her left hand, another yellow star on the furry raven clothing.

Ethan blushed a bit, thinking that she looked even more adorable like this, her scarf still hiding her mouth, but her right green eye and her nose sticking out of all this fluffy furry mess in a cute and ducky way.

She replaced her hat on her head, although it fell right back on her left eye, and she walked to Ethan, grabbing his arm happily and walking in the village. 

“I think you're gonna like Christmas. It's a very happy holiday!” Rose said, smiling. Ethan looked around, at the snow-covered buildings, at the happy wizards, humans and other creatures walking around, at the trees covered with lights and garlands, shining dimly in the afternoon sun. 

He wasn't used to seeing this much snow, as he lived in a rather warm part of the country, where snow was very rarely seen. 

Rose gasped and pulled on Ethan's arm, making him walk to a small gift shop. As they entered and the bell rang, Ethan saw that the place was pretty empty. He guessed that most people were outside or in their homes. He felt Rose let go of his arm and he turned around.”H-hey, where are you going?” He asked her as she went deeper into the shop. “I'm just gonna look around. Maybe I'll find some things to buy. You can do the same too if you want! It's Christmas after all!” She smiled brightly, blushing a bit, and disappeared behind a stand. Ethan looked around and sighed. He did bring some money, so maybe he could try and buy something.

_ “Christmas is all about the gifts, maybe I could…” _ he thought. An idea popped in his head. He was going to buy a gift for Rose. She had been a very good partner, and done a lot for him, so giving her something was only necessary.

The wizard looked around. What could he possibly buy for her. He didn't know a lot about her personal interests, except her liking of wizard history and magic. 

Ethan walked up to the counter, where a teenage elf was sitting. She looked up and smiled. “Hello, what can I do for you?”

Ethan pointed at Rose, who was looking at a painting in the back of the shop. “I'm thinking about buying something for her, b-but I don't know what…” 

The girl looked at Rose, then tapped her finger on the glass counter. “Well, she looks like someone who doesn't like big fancy things, she's dressed pretty simply and all that. Maybe a necklace, or a book. Those usually seem to work with those type of girls.” The elf said, pointing at the jewelry under the glass. “Those are some nice green eyes that she's got. If you're looking for a necklace, I got something that goes perfectly with that!” She then said, crouching down and rummaging through the jewelry. The girl took a pendant, with a green gem inside of a heart-shaped cage. “Emerald Nevax. It's a new product here.” She handed it to Ethan and he looked at the gem closely. It seemed like it was glowing very softly, and there were very faint twirls inside of the emerald. “It transfers happiness, a bit like those fake human necklaces where the person hides a kiss in it. But this one is a bit more interesting than that.” The girl smirked. “You simply place the gem in your hands and think about the emotion you want to transfer. Maybe it's love, cheerfulness, joy, laughter, surprise. The gem will take that emotion and store it in. You then give it to the person, and whenever they touch the necklace, they'll feel that emotion, no matter where you are, no matter how they are feeling.”

Ethan smiled. This was a perfect gift. 

“C’mon, try it out!”

Ethan placed the necklace in his hands and thought about how he felt when he entered the village. He felt the gem warm up a bit, and some sort of off happy feeling flow out of him and into the necklace. The wizard placed the necklace back on the counter, and the elf took it in her hands. She smiled brightly, like a child discovering magic for the first time. “Wow, that's a lot of happiness.” Ethan smiled and took out some money. “Then I'll buy it!” 

The elf nodded. “Do you want it wrapped? We have a special Christmas wrapping today.”

Ethan nodded, and the elf placed the necklace in a box, before wrapping it with red paper. She gave the box to Ethan, and walked to the cash register. “We accept Identity Cards here.”

Ethan took out his card and placed it on a small black rectangle. It beeped once, and money appeared on the counter. Ethan made a surprised noise and placed his own money back into his pockets. 

He then turned around and looked for Rose, who was looking around the shop. She smiled and turned around when she saw him.

“Hey, you ready to go?” She said happily, and Ethan nodded, placing the box he had in one of his inside pockets, then closing his robe. They went outside, and started walking around the village. Despite the snow, it wasn't too cold outside, and it made the day more enjoyable. They visited other shops, sat and simply relaxed, and bought some food. 

As Rose was finishing eating her food, Ethan heard music and laughter coming from a building. The door was open, and Ethan walked a bit closer. He looked inside, and saw a multitude of people dancing around to a few musicians.

A woman at the entrance saw them, and smiled warmly.

“You can enter if you want. It's free for the holidays.”

Ethan jumped, as he had not realized the woman was there. She laughed softly. 

“O-oh, w-well, uhm…” Ethan stuttered. He turned around, looking at Rose. “Hey Rose?”

The girl turned around and smiled. “Oh? You wanna go there?” She giggled and walked besides him. “Didn't know you liked dancing.” 

Ethan shrugged and they both walked inside, the happy and cheerful music giving out a comfortable and familiar vibe. They both removed their robes, hats and scarves, placing them on a table near the dance floor. Ethan sat down and looked at the people dancing. There were humans dancing with wizards, goblins, elves, even a centaur was there, dancing happily with a wizard. Rose sat besides Ethan. “You wanna dance? I'm sure that would take your mind off all of this, even for a moment.”

Ethan smiled softly. “Sure, why not. This is why we came here anyway.” He stood up and Rose grabbed his hand, leading him in the middle of the dance floor. Following the rhythm of the violin, Ethan let his instincts take over, dancing and twirling around, his feet agilely moving around the wooden floor, tapping on the waxed planks. Ethan lifted his hand and Rose twirled around, laughing and smiling brightly. Seeing her happy, it made him happy, and gave him the courage to keep on dancing. The music was getting more intense, and there were less and less people dancing, as most of them were mesmerized by Rose and Ethan’s gyrating. Some of the dancers started clapping their hands, but Ethan didn't hear them anymore. He was too focused on Rose, the way she moved and twirled and tapped her feet. Her bright happy smile and her shimmering eyes. Their hands parted ways for a few seconds as they both twirled around and clapped their hands, before getting back together again, turning around each other, staring into each other's eyes. The music was getting louder but Ethan didn't even care. He grabbed Rose hand and made her twirl again, and she giggled. 

Then the music stopped, and they stopped too. Ethan closed his eyes, relaxing a bit, panting heavily, and looked at Rose, whose face was mere inches away from his. Everyone around them went wild, clapping and screaming happily, a few people whistling, and Ethan smiled softly. They moved away from one another a bit awkwardly, and went back to sit on the chairs. Ethan sighed and wiped his forehead.

“W-wow… you're really good…” Rose stuttered, looking at him happily. Ethan smiled back. “T-thanks… I practiced a bit when I was a kid… it's hard being all alone living in the streets, you gotta find a way to get money somehow…”

Rose giggled. “What, you were a pole dancer or something?”

Ethan's face became red and his eyes widened. “N-NO!!!” He shook his hands and made a nervous squeak. “I-I meant like d-dancing in the streets!!”

Rose pat his shoulder and smiled mischievously. “Hehe, I know, I know, I was just kidding.”

Ethan sighed and took his clothes. “It's a getting a bit late, how about we go finish visiting the village?” Rose said happily. “You'll see, once the sun sets, it'll look even prettier!”

Ethan put on his hat and robe and chuckled. “Heh, I'm sure y-  _ IT _ will be.”

He then quickly cleared his throat to make sure Rose wouldn't notice.

They both walked out of the building, the woman at the entrance waving goodbye to them. The setting sun gave the sky a magnificent orange and purple hue, the once white clouds reflecting the vibrant colors in a paler copy of them. Ethan saw the lights of the town turn on one by one and illuminate the darkening place in multicolored flashes. A very gentle snow started falling from the cloudy sky, the small snowflakes covering the road and houses like white velvet drapes.

Noises and music were heard in the distance, and as they both turned, they saw that there was a parade going on. They walked near it. Musicians playing happy Christmas music, with carriages mounted by people wearing costumes and throwing flowers.

The whole parade was covered with colorful floating candles, following them and bouncing in rhythm with the music.

Rose yawned, but quickly looked away to hide it, although Ethan got the time to catch a glimpse of it. “You tired?”

Rose blushed softly. “N-no…” she yawned again. Ethan sighed and smiled softly. “It's alright, we could always find a place to stay for the night…”

Rose nodded and looked around, before they both walked away from the crowd, sitting on a nearby bench. She then took out her wand and made the map appear out of thin air. “The closest place is an inn… the… Visionary…”

She huffed. “Weird name, but according to the map it's only a few meters away, and it's not too pricey.”

They both stood up and walked to the place the map was indicating. The inn looked like a regular human hotel. They walked in, and rented a room for the night. 

As they walked in and Rose was teleporting the luggages inside, Ethan sighed, looking out the large window, where you could clearly see the whole town illuminated, with the snow falling gently from the clouds. “I think I get why Christmas is such a big deal for humans. Makes you appreciate the winter a bit more…” 

Rose removed her coat and tossed it on the bed. She then walked to the couch where Ethan was sitting and sat down next to him. “It's nice to get a break once in a while… the view gets even prettier when you're actually focusing on it.” She giggled softly, replacing her skirt on her legs, and Ethan blushed. There was a small magical fireplace in their room, lighting up the dark place with a warm orange light.

Ethan fiddled nervously with the box he had in his hands. He placed it besides him and removed his hat and coat, trying to flatten his hair that had tangled and fluffed all over because of his hat, then turned around, admiring Rose for a few seconds. Ethan cleared his throat and Rose turned around.

“S-so, uhm, I uh, s-since it's Christmas and all that..” he lifted the box up. “I got you a present…” he looked down and blushed. Rose took the box and smiled softly. “Heh, wow, t-that’s really nice of you…” she looked at Ethan. “I don't get lots of presents during Christmas.” 

Rose unwrapped the present and opened the small box. She gasped softly and giggled, taking out the necklace. “A Nevax? Heh, that's like…” she stopped and blushed harder. “God, that's so sweet… they're really pricey too.” the girl brought the necklace closer to her and inspected it closely. “Did you put anything in it?” 

Ethan nodded. “W-well, I did once, but it was for testing, n-not what I actually wanted to put in…” 

Rose gave him the necklace and Ethan closed his eyes. He was a bit embarrassed to put those emotions in the necklace, but he just felt like he had to. A rush of happy tender feelings flew through him and into the emerald, and it glowed softly as Ethan thought of Rose. 

He then gave the necklace back to his partner. Rose looked at it, the pale glow of the heart reflecting on the wizard's face. She placed it around her neck and smiled, looking back up at Ethan. “Hey, can you help me out a bit?”

Ethan nodded and leaned closer, carefully attaching the necklace to Rose's neck .

“How do I look?” the girl then asked, moving back.

Ethan blushed softly. “U-uh, p-pretty…”

Rose’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, then she made a half smile. “Heh, oh you..”

Ethan sighed softly, catching his breath as Rose stood up to go take something in her coat. She quickly came back, lifting up a very small box up. Ethan delicately took it in his hands and gently unwrapped it. It seemed like a ring box, made out of wood with a few foreign inscriptions and swirls all over it. Ethan opened it and saw a ring, golden pink, with a small red rose on the top. Ethan chuckled.

“Heh, looks like we both got jewellery for Christmas…”

Rose blushed softly and looked down. “W-was the ring a good idea..? S-since… y'know…”

Ethan nodded happily and tried putting the ring on his index finger. “Oh, it's a bit too small…” 

Rose gasped and took the ring. “Wait, let me do it..”

Ethan blushed a bit at the oddly intimate gesture and let the girl gently take his hand in hers, sliding the ring in each fingers to try and find the perfect fit. Funny enough, the ring fit perfectly in Ethan's ring finger. He tried to not look up, realizing just how close their faces were, and focused on his hand. He admired the ring for a while. It didn't have any magical aura like the Ring, it was just a normal piece of jewelry. 

Yet, it seemed as if there was an aura. Something that did indeed make him feel strange. 

Ethan looked up, and blushed, realizing that Rose had been staring at him for quite some time. He gazed into her green eyes, getting lost in the millions of stars that had formed in them, creating a beautiful lime colored galaxy in her irises.

He moved a bit closer, and Rose looked back down, blushing madly. 

He was about to talk when a loud explosion was heard. Rose quickly stood up, snapping out of the sort of trance she was in as her instincts came back running. She ran to the window, gasping as she looked up to the mountains. Ethan stood up and walked next to her. “W-what’s wrong?” He asked as he looked up. There was fire coming from the mountains, distant enough to not be an imminent threat but close enough to make both wizards worry. 

A loud roar echoed through the mountains, loud enough to make the building shake ever so slightly. 

Rose looked at Ethan, her eyes wide in surprise and fear. “Th-this sounds like…”

Ethan walked back to the room to take his coat. “A dragon, yeah.” He quickly dressed up and looked at Rose. 

“I thought they went extinct after the War…” the girl said, confused. She frowned slightly, seeing that Ethan was all dressed up. “You're gonna go see?”

Ethan nodded. “It could be a clue. You've seen all that smoke.”

Rose looked back at the mountains for a moment, then sighed. “Alright. We'll go take a quick look then come back.”

Rose took out her wand. Ethan looked at her and frowned. “You can teleport us there?” She looked out the window and shrugged. “Yeah, I just need to find a good place…”

Ethan looked out as well. It didn't seem like anyone really cared about the noise that was being heard, the people still talking and laughing happily. “How does far away teleporting even work? Do you still need a picture of the place in your head like with regular teleporting?” the man asked.

Rose nodded. “Yeah, it takes a toll on you if you don't have one. I even heard stories of people who lost limbs because they did that. I don't wanna risk it.” Ethan shivered. Rose grabbed Ethan's hand and waved her wand around, teleporting both of them in the mountains.

They arrived in a rocky part of the place. It smelled like smoke and burnt cedar and pine. There wasn't any snow anywhere, and it was a bit hotter than the village they were in minutes ago. Most trees around looked dead or very devoid of any leaves and branches, or were burnt down and covered in embers, some of them still dimly flickering in a pale orange light, the corpses of the plants making the whole scenery feel like some sort of graveyard.

Ethan looked at the smoke and tugged on Rose's sleeve. She turned around and gasped. There was way more than what they'd anticipated. It was oddly black and it didn't smell like burnt wood. It had that distinct smell of sulfur, a smell they learned to recognize in schools.

“Yeah, there's no doubt there's a dragon there.” she said, taking a few steps forward. As they walked towards the smoke, other noises started being heard. Two men were heard talking and each time a roar was heard, one of them could be heard as well yelling something. Ethan's eyes widened when he saw large wings appear in the horizon, then a crimson tail swinging around. The dragon was a giant. More than 25 meters long, counting the tail and head. It roared again, and Ethan saw a man tug on a rope wrapped around the creature’s left paw. There was another man sitting on a rock nearby, looking at the first one and yelling things at him. Ethan tried looking at the first one, and he gasped when he recognized him.

“H-hey, isn't that…” Rose started, looking at Ethan. He nodded and stood up. The man that was sitting on the rock noticed them and waved, then yelling something at the other and snapping his fingers, the dragon suddenly laying down and making some sort of purring noise. The first one looked to the duo and his eyes widened in surprise. “Hey John!!”

John waved at the two, motioning his hand in a way to tell them they could come closer. 

Both wizards walked up to them, although slowly, a bit intimidated by the imposing creature that was resting peacefully nearby. The other man stood up from his rock and walked up to them, his armor clinking with his steps. He scratched his beard, and Ethan noticed he had a huge scar across his mouth and eye. “You know them?” He asked. John made an agreeing noise and pat the man's shoulder. “Those are Ethan and Rose. They're the ones who told me they'd help me, uh, get Nick back.”

He looked at them and gave them a little smile. “That's Philip. He's not a wizard but he can train and take care of dragons better than anyone.”

Philip smiled at them, taking a step forward to shake both of their hands. “Pleasure to meet you!”

Ethan looked at the sleeping dragon behind them. “So… you take care of dragons? I thought they were extinct…”

Philip chuckled and walked towards the beast, placing his gloved hand over it's muzzle. “We thought they were for a while, but I was able to find a few and raise them. Glad that knights don't exist anymore or there really wouldn't be any dragons.”

The creature huffed and a bit of smoke came out it's nostrils. “Such a shame… dragons are such beautiful creatures. They never deserved to be hunted down like that.” He continued, looking down a bit sadly.

Ethan looked at the ground. There was a bit of steam coming out of it.

“What were you two doing before? We saw smoke, that's why we came.” Rose asked John. 

“Oh, Philip was teaching me how to control a dragon, although I guess there was a little accident and a bit of fire came out.” He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “It's alright thought, the townspeople don't really care, and the forest didn't burn down, so I shouldn't worry too much.” 

Philip walked to the beast and untied the knot around it's leg, then wrapping the rope around his bandaged arm. “It's getting a bit late, how about we go inside.” He said, pointing to a large rock nearby. Ethan raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“You'll see when we get there.” Philip chuckled, walking towards the rock. A soft halo surrounded him and he passed right through the object, quickly followed by John and the dragon. Ethan and Rose looked at them walk through, and, a bit surprised, followed them inside the hidden house. Ethan's jaw hung open with surprise and wonder as he looked around. It was a very large cave, with an extremely high and large ceiling, with a hole for light on the very top, dragons, big and small, flying or sitting around all over rocks and crevices of the place. It was very hot in there, and both wizards removed their robes as they kept walking. The smell of sulfur wasn't as bad as Ethan thought it would be. There were a few fires here and there, but the rocky place made it impossible for it to spread.

Despite the weather, a few flowers and plants grew here and there on small patches of grass and dirt. Philip led them to a smaller hole in the cave, the big red dragon flying away and leaving them to be with his peers. 

There was a curtain hiding the entrance to the room, and Philip pushed it aside, letting the wizards walk in. “Welcome to my part of the cave. It's not too big but I'm sure you'll like the decoration…” he smiled and chuckled, both Ethan and Rose still surprised as they looked around. There were jewels encrusted in the polished walls around, jades, peridots, emeralds, with paintings hanging from the wall and a light shining on the gems from the hole in the ceiling, illuminating the place in a green hue.

On a small bed was a wizard, asleep and snoring, with a small dragon on top of their head, also asleep. John walked up to the wizard and gently shook their shoulder. They grumbled and moved, the small dragon waking up and flying on a couch as the wizard lifted themselves up and replaced their glasses on the top of their nose.

“Izzy look, it's those guys again!” John told the woman, who gasped and stood up straight on the bed, blushing a bit in embarrassment. 

Rose looked at the bed, then at Izzy, a bit confused as to why she was there. 

“It-it's a long story…”

Ethan saw that she had a few cuts and bruises all over her face and hands, and the girl quickly hid her hands behind her sleeves as she stood up.

“So I'm guessing you also followed the trail, huh?” John asked the duo, taking a seat on one of the velvet couches. “That weird aura around those woods?”

Rose shrugged. “I had a hunch there was something odd nearby but to be honest we only came here specifically because we heard the dragon.”

John nodded in silence and looked at the tiny dragon sitting besides him. Philip pushed the dragon aside and sat on the couch, removing one of his gloves to scratch a cut he had on the back of his hands. “Glad you brought that up, because I actually wanted to tell you about what I saw a few hours ago.”

He sighed and took an apple from a small basket on the table next to the couch. “I was on Gladys, the big red dragon you two saw back outside, just flying around and stretching out her wings, she doesn't go outside a lot, she's pretty old, and I saw a weird hole in the mountains. It looked man-made and it wasn't there before so I went to inspect a bit closer.” He leaned over and lifted an eyebrow. “Guess what I found…” he suddenly threw his apple core on the ground, the small dragon pouncing on it ferociously. “A guy. He looked like he was waiting for something. He was at the entrance of the cave, and Gladys felt something was wrong because I could feel her get nervous. She's usually not scared of anything, but if this man made her afraid, then…” 

Ethan groaned, and Rose clutched her wand in her hand. 

“Long hair, goatee, dressed in all black?” Ethan asked.

Philip nodded. “John told me what happened, and well, this guy's disturbing the peace. I've never seen my dragons so agitated before…” he stood up and tapped on his chestplate with his fist. “I'll join your little quest. The more the merrier, am I right?” the small dragon flew on his shoulder. “Also I can't really just stand there not doing anything while you guys try to fight. I'm sure my skills could come in handy.”

Rose tapped her wand on her cheek, biting her lip and concentrating.

“I'm guessing he didn't have The Ring on him, that would be a stupid move. The Ring is probably hidden in the cave somewhere.” 

Philip nodded, sitting back down. “How are we going to get it? It's a ring, can't be too hard to find.”

Rose sighed. “That's why we'll have to split up. A team to distract and fight Briac While the rest goes inside to search.”

John frowned and leaned forward. “You know there's only 5 of us, 7 if you count Sophie and…” he paused and looked around “Didn't you have a frog?” he asked Ethan. Ethan looked up at Rose's hat and pointed to it. “It's the best place so she wouldn't get harmed during battle.” Seeing as Philip seemed a bit confused, Ethan clarified. “Infinite dimension spell, bottomless hat, whatever you call it, makes things bigger inside.” Philip nodded. “Oh, alright!”

John cleared his throat and continued. “What I'm saying is that I don't think we're enough people. This guy, he's really powerful. Are you sure we can beat him just like that?”

Rose shrugged. “The chances are slim but I think we can.” She turned to Philip. “Do you have any dragons that can fight? Maybe we could…” 

Philip nodded. “I think Cerberus could do the job. He's probably the strongest I have.”

She turned to Izzy, who hadn't said a word for a few minutes, and was now finally talking. “So who's gonna do what?” She asked, replacing her round glasses on her face. “We'll just… have to ask… I don't want to force anyone to do anything..” Rose said a bit awkwardly.

Ethan looked down for a while and thought about what he should do. It was his ring after all, so he should go in the cave to search. _.. _

 

_ No. _

That was a cowardly move. He knew what he truly wanted to do. That man had killed his family, had killed Rose's family, had kidnapped friends and destroyed lives. He wanted - no \- he _had_ to fight him.

The wizard stood up suddenly and Rose turned around, surprised. “I'll fight.” He said.

The girl's eyes widened in horror and she stood up as well. “W-wait! This is your ring, you should be the one inside! I can go outside!” she exclaimed in fear.

Ethan shook his head. Letting Rose fight would be even worse. He didn't want anything to happen to her. He cared too much about her. And what good would he do inside. His wound was starting to hurt again, and he didn't know how long he'd have before the curse took over his body completely. It'd be better if he used his time fighting.

“No, I'm a skilled enough fighter, and you're the only one besides me who can touch the ring. I can stay outside. You should stay inside with Izzy and John.” He turned and looked around. “I mean, I'll have Philip and his dragon with me, I'm sure I'll be fine.” He looked at John. “If we ever need backup, if it seems we're really struggling, come join us, okay?”

John nodded. 

Philip sighed and stood up, replacing his armor and walking out the door. “Welp, that was nice. Now let's go see Cerberus.”

They all followed him out, everyone's nerves on edge and everyone looking around in the fear of a potential attack.

They arrived in front of a gigantic hole in the rock. There were burn marks everywhere, and a few writings and runes on the walls and ceiling. A soft turquoise glow was coming from the darkness, blinking up and down the enormous creature's back on spikes as it breathed in and out. As soon as Philip touched the wall, a low but booming growl was heard, and a few more turquoise spikes lit up on the creature's flank and head. The dragon shook its head and lifted it in the air, gazing down at the group. Slowly, it walked out from the darkness and Ethan gasped at how imposing and beautiful this creature was. Cerberus was a good name, as the dragon was dark like coal, with a shine to it, making the scales on his body look like polished obsidians, with only the spikes on his back, head and flank to contrast in bright turquoise, as well as his eyes, blood red, with two small pupils, dark like the night. His neck and tail were a bit shorter than Gladys's, but in height he must've been at least two or three meters bigger. The dragon breathed out a hot puff of air, and the long fine spikes on each side of his cheeks flickered as he did, the muscles of his wings stretching up, trembling with the effort. Ethan could see the grin on Philip's face widen. 

“That is one hell of a beast.” Izzy said, clutching her hat in her hands. Philip nodded, stretching out his hand to gently caress Cerberus's muzzle. “Oh, he is indeed...” Cerberus roared in approval, lowering his head. “Okay, is everyone ready?” Philip asked, looking around. Everyone nodded and Rose gulped nervously, staring at the dragon. “We're… gonna ride him?”

She shook her head. Ethan looked at her with uncertainty. He walked a bit closer and placed his hand on her shoulder. “It's alright, it's just like flying in a plane, or, maybe a broom would be a good example too…”. Rose looked at him and sighed. “Yeah, i-it is just like flying some sort of giant broom…” Ethan nodded happily and took her hand. The group all climbed on the dragon and Ethan felt Rose wrap her arms around him. 

As they were starting to take off, he heard her let out a scared squeak. He smiled and looked back at her. “Hey, it's alright, just don't look down, look at me instead!” he smiled softly, and she smiled back. Ethan looked around. The dragon flew off from the cave, quite gracefully and quietly for an animal his size, and the wizard gasped, seeing that there was in fact some sort of dark aura around a part of the mountain, just like John said. They flew to the place, and Briac was indeed there. It didn't seem like he saw them. Cerberus landed on a rocky part sticking out of the mountain near the cave, in a place where the dark wizard couldn't find them. Ethan and Philip both hopped out and crawled down under the platform of the Emperor’s cave, and climbed up on it, Ethan unsheathing his wand and Philip his sword. Briac smiled, looking at both of them. “I thought more of you were coming. Did they die on the way here?” he said snarkily. A small cat walked to him and Briac picked it up with his free hand, tapping the fingers of his other one on his wooden scepter. Ethan took a step forward, and pointed his wand towards the man while the rest of the group sneaked into the cave. “Where's the Ring, Tinderage? We know you have it.” 

Briac smirked and chuckled. “Oh, of course you know… if I didn't want to be found you wouldn't have found me…” he looked down at the cat for a second. His hand moved down and up quickly as he threw the animal in the air, before stabilizing it with his scepter. The animal meowed and hissed, growing bigger, the meows becoming growls as the cat transformed into a beast, its eyes turning black as dark smoke came out its mouth and nose. The creature landed on the ground, its talons digging into the rock. Briac looked at Philip. “Now, I'm sure dragon boy over there brought all sorts of beasts to fight. Let's see how well that turns out when he realizes…” the man snapped his fingers and dark smoke came out of the ground, forming into tigers, like the ones Ethan had seen back at the diner. “It doesn't matter how many there are…” the number of tigers grew larger and larger. “Because you can't beat me.” Briac grinned evilly as all the tigers started running towards the two. Philip brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. A large explosion occurred and a few of the tigers evaporated. A loud roar was heard as Cerberus landed in front of Ethan and Philip, staring at the wizard and growling, smoke coming out of his mouth. Briac laughed, petting the head of his beast. “Oh? You brought only one, huh? I guess this is going to be easier than I thought…”

Philip chuckled as roars were heard in the distance. “Not one… how about one hundred?” a few silhouettes of dragons appeared in the clouds. Briac smiled, a glint of madness in his eyes. “OH, THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!” he waved his scepter and most of the tigers flew in the sky. Roars and booming thunder were heard as the dragons and monsters clashed against each other, blood and smoke flying everywhere. The remaining monsters pounced on Philip, Cerberus and Ethan, and the fight started. Ethan waved his wand around, aiming at the creatures as best as he could, trying to hit them with light spells, although no matter how many he destroyed, more always came back. He turned to look at Philip, slicing through the black matter without leaving any wounds, as it seemed normal weapons didn't harm the creatures. Cerberus roared, spitting out light from his mouth, the creatures surrounding his master evaporating in the air. Philip climbed onto the dragon and flew in the air, shooting light at the tigers.

In vain. 

Ethan sighed and looked inside the cave. If this kept on going like this, they'll have to call John for backup.

He hoped that it was going well enough inside…

 

****

 

The cave was bigger than what Rose had expected. And filled with odd things. Treasures, masks, old statues of screaming men, women and children, covered with vines and moss, books neatly organized in old wooden shelves, most of them about forbidden spells and lost magic. Rose heard Izzy scream and she walked to her. “Izzy? What did you f-” she stopped and gasped in horror. The girl had opened up a chest filled with broken wands, some of them with residues of bloody fingerprints still on them. “By Karmian… how many wizards did he actually kill…” Rose mumbled. She felt tears form in her eyes as her vision got blurry. Izzy grabbed her arm and helped her stay up. “This fucker is gonna pay, I swear..” the wand-maker said dryly, looking back at entrance of the cave. John made a disgusted sound as he looked at the wands, and quickly walked away, staring at the statues. “There's so many of them. They also all look really realistic…” he poked one of them. “There's so much details, look, even the pores of the skin, and the hair and the clothes…” he passed a hand on another statue's head. “Almost as if..” his eyes wandered around, and then stopped. And widened in horror.

There was a statue of a man, on his knees, arms in front of his face in an attempt to protect himself. He had deep cuts and bruises all over his body, and on his face was painted pure terror and fear. He had the face of a man who's helpless, a man who has lost it all. A man who knew he was about to die. A man who didn't want to die 

“Oh..” John took a step towards the statue. He recognized that face. Even with the moss and vines all over it, and a large portion of the mouth mangled and shredded, he could still see clearly who it was. And he hated that he recognized him. 

Rose and Izzy ran up to him. “Is that…”

John nodded silently. That was indeed Nick. 

He fell on the ground, his breathing picking up the pace dangerously, as he brought his trembling hands to his head, clutching it tightly and looking down in shock. “Oh… no.. no...” he mumbled in a panicked tone. Both Izzy and Rose walked besides him, and Izzy kneeled and gently rub his back. Rose looked at the statues for a second. 

“What if…” she brought a hand to the statue's chest. She gasped. He was still alive. She could feel a heartbeat in there. She tried it with the others. They were all still alive. Rose touched John's shoulder. “Hey, he's still alive, don't worry. He's just… turned to stone…” she gulped nervously. John took a few deep breaths, and closed his eyes. “So… if we kill that man… the spell should break, right? That's how most spells work.” Rose nodded. “I could also try to find a counter-spell. There's tons of books in here. As soon as I find the Ring, I'll do that.” John smiled faintly and stood up. “Yeah, we should find the Ring first…” 

There was a lot of noise outside. The trio looked out. “Do you think you should…” Izzy asked, looking at John. John sighed and nodded, opening his vest. Sophie hopped out and sat in front of him, her tail wagging as she stared up. The wizard took out his wand and smirked. “You ready to go to war Sophie?”. He waved his wand, casting a ray of blue light on the cat. She moved her head down, digging her claws into the ground, as she grew bigger and bigger, her hisses turning into roars, horns growing off the top of her head, her tail filling with spikes, her claws getting bigger and her teeth longer and sharper. She moved her head back up, her blood red eyes leaving a trail of light behind them. John hopped onto her back and twirled his wand in his hand. “I'll be back, try to find the Ring while I'm gone.” Sophie started running towards the exit, and the two girls turned back to searching.

 

****

 

A hiss of pain made Briac turn around, fast enough to see another beast pounce on his own cat, digging their claws and teeth in the other's skin. John hopped off Sophie and ran to Ethan and Philip. “You two okay? Looked like you needed help.”

Philip shrugged. “Yeah, thanks, we did need a bit of-” he cut through a shadow “-help!”

Ethan looked at Sophie, fighting Briac's own cat, slashing through flesh, whipping her tail, clawing at it's face, biting through the skin, both beasts rolling around and hissing. “Damn, is that your cat?” he asked, slashing through more shadows. John smiled and nodded. “Little trick, seems the Emperor knows it as well, but my Sophie is stronger I bet!” 

Meanwhile, Izzy and Rose were still on their search. A surprised but proud yelp made Rose looked up at where the other girl was standing. She was looking into a small box. Rose looked into it and gasped. “The Ring!!” a smile grew on her cheeks. 

“It’s so pretty, I wanna touch it…” Izzy mumbled, moving her hand closer to the ring. Rose slapped her hand away and screamed. “NO, DON'T!!!” 

Izzy yelped and looked up. “W-why not? It's just a ring, what's the big deal about it anyway…”

Rose grabbed the Ring and shoved it in her jean pocket. “Only a handful of people can touch it. If a commoner happens to do so… they might die…”.

Izzy took a step back in fear. “Oh, uhm, alright… and why can you touch it?”

Rose looked at her hand for a second. “I… I don't know… I just can. I'm guessing it's because my mother could…”

Scream and grunts were heard outside and both girls gasped. “Oh no… I think we'll have to take care of the statues later, unless you want everyone here to die prematurely. “ 

Izzy nodded, and they both ran to the exit.

 

****

 

A gush of air blew the boys to the ground. Ethan couldn't move. He looked to his friends, who were all in the same situation as him.

John's wand had flown from his hand to the ground behind him, and he extended his arm as much as he could, grunting with the effort. Philip looked up in the sky, to where his dragons had been. 

The sky was completely dark. There were a few dragons still fighting for their lives, but most of them were laying on the ground weak and defeated. Philip let out a cry of anger, and tried to get up.

Sophie growled in pain as the other cat dug his teeth in her neck, and she hissed and whimpered, her legs and paws moving in the air helplessly, her jaw opening and closing in mid air as she tried to bite back in vain. 

Briac sighed, his wand glowing. “This was a nice game. But you're all just so predictable… I knew you were simply trying to distract me while the two girls went inside to find the Ring…” he cackled, bringing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “Do you think I'm stupid? I can sense magical auras too, you know that?” He smirked. “I saw you coming from a mile away…”

Ethan growled, trying to stand up, and move his arm. His wand sparkled, but he couldn't do anything with his hand immobilized like that. Briac walked to him and crouched down, taking his chin in his hand and lifting his head up. 

“Do you remember me, Ethan?”

Ethan spat on his face, and Briac laughed. “It  seems you do…” 

“Go fuck yourself.” 

“Oh, combative, eh? Just like his mother was…” he sighed, looking up. “It's sad she used up all her power to teleport you away. Maybe she would've stood a chance, instead of getting torn to pieces by my shadow creatures…”

Ethan growled and struggled to move. “Don't you dare talk about her like this you monster!!!”

Briac laughed again, and stood up. “Well, I only want the Ring after all. As soon as your two friends come out of here… oh, it's better if I keep it a surprise, no?” He hit his wand's base on the ground and the shadow creatures all disappeared. Ethan felt the magic pushing him down lift him up. A dark hand grabbed his wand, tugging on it. Ethan clutched the handle tighter, but yelped in pain, feeling a strong electric current flow through him, and instinctively dropped his wand. Briac sighed and took John's wand as well, that was still laying on the ground, and brought both of them up next to him. “Now now, there's no reason to resist at that point. Just lay back and enjoy the show..” a ray of light appeared behind the man and hit his head, making him stumble and almost fall. Both Rose and Izzy ran out of the cave, Rose's wand was flaming as she kicked Briac in the back, making him fall to his knees. She put her foot on the back of his head and pushed his face against the rubble. “Predicted that, tin can?” She giggled, pointing her wand on him. He turned around, his hands in the air in a surrendering motion. He sighed and grinned. “Oh… I did.”

Ethan saw rocks move behind both girls, and his eyes widened. He tugged on his invisible restrains, and screamed out as loud as he could. “BEHIND YOU, WATCH OUT!!!”

Rose looked behind her and quickly pushed Izzy out of the way, then threw something at Ethan. 

The ground moved too fast for her to avoid the hit. 

A spike came out of it. And pierced through the fabric of her shirt. Through her skin. Through her flesh, and her whole body. 

Ethan was able to catch what Rose had thrown. And he screamed. Rose looked at him helplessly, and smiled softly, the rocks spreading across her body and turning her to stone, as a small tear dripped down her cheek and fell to the ground.

Then he felt another weight on him. And a wave of pain. The familiar cracking of wood. He was barely able to look up, and last his blurry vision of tears and dizziness, and saw Briac with his wand, broken in half in his hands, dropping to the floor. 

The restrains disappeared and the wizard fell to the floor, looking at what Rose threw at him, his sight so blurry from the overwhelming pain he was feeling, he could barely make out the round metal, the familiar piece of jewelry, the magical aura around it.

_ “The… Ring…” _ Ethan thought, before darkness fell upon him.


	7. I Will Fight For You

_ Wake up. What are you doing. Don't die just yet. What about the ring, what about your mother, what about your friends, what about Rose, what about your wand… _

_ What about you. _

_ Wake up. _

_ Wake up. _

_ Wake up. _

 

_ Ethan woke up with a gasp. He looked around, but only saw darkness. _

_ Where was he? _

_ A light shone in front of him and he shielded his eyes with his arm. Silhouettes appeared in front of him, and he felt a soft hand gently place itself on his shoulder.  _

_ Ethan looked up. _

 

_ “M-mum?” he said weakly, his voice cracking with emotion and strain. The woman nodded and helped him up. “Come on, Ethan, you can't give up just like that… what about all the things you worked for?” Ethan looked behind her, and saw his father, grandparents, and all the other Ring bearers from before. “B-but… my wand… broke… and Rose is probably…” his voice vanished and he brought a hand to his mouth, gagging at the memory.  _

_ Ethan's mother pat his head softly. “No. She's not dead. And you're not either. Now go back there and fight. Fight for everyone who's lost, for everyone who can't fight. Use the Ring. Use your strength.” _

_ Ethan looked up, and tears filled his eyes. “I... I'll do my best…” he leaned in and gave her a hug.  _

_ “I miss you so much… I wish you were still here…”  _

_ Eileen gently rubbed his head and smiled. “I'm still here, starlight… a part of every Ring bearer is in there… and we're all counting on you.” She gently pushed him away and grabbed his shoulders. “Now go on. Fight. And win this battle.” _

_ She gave him a gentle push and he felt himself fall in the darkness, the silhouettes disappearing in the light as he got deeper in the void of black, and closed his eyes  _

  
  


****

 

The feeling of hard rubble and rocks on his face and body made Ethan gasp and stand up quickly. He still had The Ring in his hand. He looked around. 

He was in the forest, a few kilometers away from the battle. He could still hear explosions and roars in the distance, and groaned, bringing a hand to his ringing head. A strange sensation started flowing down his body, and he moved his hand back in front of him. “What's this…” he looked more closely at the ring Rose gave him a few hours prior. Was the sensation coming from there..? 

Just like an answer to his question, the ring glowed very softly, a barely perceptible light shivering like the pink flame of a candle in the soft wind. Ethan smiled softly and sniffled, kissing the ring. It seemed Rose knew what would've happened eventually… 

He took The Ring and gently slid it on his middle finger, right besides Rose's ring. The two rings sparkled and Ethan gasped, feeling a rush of adrenaline and magical energy flow through his whole being. Sparks flew all around him and he saw his aura light up. He felt so much stronger than before. He could hear all the voices of the Rings bearers, he could feel them, their power, knowledge, magic. It was like he had just discovered magic for the first time. And oddly enough, he was able to recognize a part of the feeling as Rose. She had done the same spell that had been casted on The Ring. Part of her magic was in there too. 

Ethan stood up slowly, and rolled up his sleeves. He was going to fight Briac. And he was going to win. He had to.

Like on instinct, he snapped his fingers and teleported back to the battlefield. Briac looked to him and snickered. “Even after your friends use all their energy to teleport you away, you come back like a reckless kid?” He pointed to the group, all on the ground, either unconscious or nearly there. Philip looked up in terror, and winced in pain as he tried to move. “D-don't do it… h-he'll…” he coughed, and Briac growled, hitting the man's face with his scepter. “Oh, c'mon, you and me both know he'll still try…” Briac mumbled, looking back up at Ethan with a sinister smile. “I see your aura has changed… but you're weak. You can't multiply power that already didn't exist, young man..” 

Ethan smiled, and stayed silent. The dark wizard was getting nervous, he could feel it. He took a step forward, and Briac took a small step back. “You wanna fight, huh?” He twirled his scepter around. “Let's see how pathetic you'll look when you try to cast a spell without that precious wand of yours.” He said happily, before he took off and jumped on Ethan. Ethan quickly teleported away, and Briac gasped in surprise. “Wh-what?” He said, getting up and trying to hit him with his scepter. With each hit, Ethan dodged quickly, and he could feel fear get bigger in Briac each time he tried to hit him. “You think you're so great, teleporting like that?” The man growled. He whistled, and his cat ran to him. “Let's see how well you do against two.” the cat pounced on Ethan, and he brought his hand up, poking the beast in the stomach. “Oops.” He said, as the beast howled in pain and flew across the air, lading on the ground and not getting up. “Don't worry, it's still alive… just knocked out.” Ethan said, tugging on his collar. It was getting a bit hard to breathe in there. Briac looked at his cat, then Ethan, in shock. “Oh, and you think I'll just surrender like this?” He waved his scepter around, and shadows flew out of the ground. “Try this!” The shadows flew in Ethan's direction, surrounding him. The wizard smirked, and a wave of light hit the shadows, turning them to light themselves. Briac yelped, and Ethan moved his hand, the light flying back and hitting the dark mage. He grunted in pain and fell to the floor, shooting his head back up with an enraged look, teeth gritted and his hair burnt and messy. “O-OH YEAH? W-WELL YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING!!!” He stood up and ran towards Ethan. The wizard closed his eyes. He dodged the punch, and grabbed the dark mage's arm, making him hit the floor in a hard thud. Then he punched him. And punched again. And again. With each punch he could feel a soul killed by the Emperor finally be set free. With each punch he was avenging all of the victims. He summoned light from his hands, about to deliver a final blow.

Then.

“WAIT, WAIT, I'M SORRY, I SURRENDER I SURRENDER!!!”

Ethan paused for a second and blinked. “Oh, you do, do you?” Briac nodded. Ethan looked down. Should he really?

Suddenly, he felt something hit his back. He gasped and turned around. A large spike had come out the ground, and pierced through him. Ethan smirked. “Oh, I won't be killed that easily, Tinderage…”.

The light hit the dark wizard before he could react. He screamed in agony, rage and fire still in his eyes as they turned to look at Ethan, helpless but angry. “NOOO, NOOOOOOOO, I DON'T WANT TO DIE, I DO-” is all he could say as he slowly turned to dust, the dust flying in the wind, leaving only the man's empty clothes behind, and Ethan alone. He looked up at the sky and slid his body out of the large spike, unbothered by the pain, feeling his abdomen heal quickly, leaving white smoke behind it as he walked towards Rose's statue and kneeled down. “So many souls have been hurt… I'll free all of you…” he gently kissed her forehead and light spread across her body, and inside of the cave. The shadows disappeared, and the rock crumbled on the ground. Rose gasped and clutched Ethan's shirt tightly, looking up, shaking uncontrollably as she tried to catch her breath. “E-Ethan?” She asked weakly, moving a hand quickly to her stomach and chest, where the spikes had once been. There was nothing but scars and a hole in her shirt. Ethan smiled softly, and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. “It's over now… you're all okay…” he looked back at the unconscious group, and then inside the cave. He heard screams and noises, then saw a few people walking out of the cave, gasping as they looked at the night sky, the black clouds that were once there having disappeared. A few dragons stood up and started flying. Cerberus grabbed the still unconscious Philip and John with his mouth, and Sophie and Izzy in his paws, and flew in the cave, gently laying them down on a worn down mattress. 

Rose looked at Ethan. “You okay?” She looked at his hand, still wearing the two rings. Ethan nodded, but then winced in pain, clutching his wound on his shoulder.

He had almost forgotten it was there….

It was hurting a lot now. It wasn't the tingly odd feeling he had at the beginning, now it was fierce and painful waves on his whole arm.

Rose gasped and looked at his shoulder. “O-oh, no, no you're not alright!!!” She said in fear. Ethan looked away. “It's alright, don't panic… I'm sure you can find a solution…” he smiled softly at her, and Rose blushed. “I-I don't know, we don't know what that curse was!!!”

Ethan looked down. And then he remembered what Austin had told them.

“Most stories had the same type of curse… so what if…” he gently took Rose's hand in his and placed it on her chest, where the Nevax was. Rose took the gem in her hands and looked at it. “What are you-” she paused and blushed, bringing her hands to her mouth in shock, the Nevax flopping back on her chest in a silent thud. “Y-you…” she looked up, unable to say anything else. It seemed the gift did work after all. She moved a bit closer. “So that's why you… I… what..” she tried talking, but the words didn't seem to come out properly. Ethan blushed and looked down, nodding gently. Rose moved a bit closer, and Ethan could practically touch her lips with his. All he had to do was to…

... _ move _ .

He gasped and blushed madly. The kiss did surprise him a bit, but what made him gasp in shock was the pink glow emanating from his wound as soon as Rose kissed him. He kissed back, feeling the pain slowly fade away. When they parted, the curse was completely gone. And Ethan gasped, inhaling fresh air, looking around, and laughing softly, realizing just how badly the wound had affected his senses. Rose smiled softly. “S-so that was the solution..?”

Ethan nodded. “Simpler than I thought, to be honest.”

Rose rested her forehead against Ethan's. She seemed happy. The wizard looked around. Everyone seemed happy. He saw a man looking over John, and raised his eyebrows in curiosity. “Is that Nick?” 

Rose nodded. “I think John's gonna get one hell of a surprise when he wakes up, hehe!” She giggled, and Ethan smiled. “He is. And what are we supposed to do with all those people?” He pointed to the rest of what used to be statues. It seemed some of them had been in the state for a few decades, and were looking around, happy to be alive but confused about everything else. Rose shrugged. “I'm guessing a few of them will need a little summary of the last century.” Ethan nodded. They'd have to do all that and more. Having finally defeated a powerful dark mage, and met a lot of new interesting people along the way, Ethan could guess that now his life would never be the same. But he was happy it changed.

After all… wasn't he the one who envied the magical security department for getting into the action so much? When he came back home, he'd have a great story to tell, that's for sure...

  
  


T H E  E N D 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I remember when I first wrote this, there were supposed to be 6 chapters, but I thought it would keep the suspense a bit longer if I put the final final battle in a separate chapter, even if it was really short. I really liked writing TLR, and I hope that maybe one day I'll make a comic or maybe even a movie with my super duper cool animating skills (no)


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